New Edge of the Anvil

Jack Andrews

Reviewed by:

Sean Yates

This is the revised edition of what has become a standard text, minus the recipe for blacksmith’s beer. More often than not, this is the book experienced, serious, A.B.A.N.A. members recommend and I am certainly not about to disagree with them. Mr. Andrews was a professor of industrial design and has taught at Philadelphia’s University of the Arts and his writing reflects that. He was awarded the 1995 Alex Bealer Award in part for writing this book. He covers quite a lot of ground from setting up shop to forging colors and temperatures, making and heat treating tools, basic metallurgy and a survey of the work of some of the more artistically inclined blacksmiths. This book is almost as essential as your anvil.