Lorne W.

A few updates:

1.) "Friends" page has been created (bladesmithsforum.com) is featured there. This page is for saying thank you to individuals, organizations, and communities that are helping let people know about Smithlist.

https://smithlist.net/smithlist-friends/

2.) Badges - When creating a listing additional questions have been added depending on categories you select. For example "Bladesmith" category now has four possible badges: 

- ABS JS 

- ABS M.S.

- FIF Contestant

- FIF Champion

FIF standing for Forged in Fire.

3.) Custom map markers that better represent different categories have been added.

4.) The blog is now live.

5.) The dark theme is about 95% complete. User profiles have more information and easy access to places, events, and the marketplace.

The marketplace is now open, Smithlist does not take any fees, there are fees for using the Paypal gateway which the seller pays. These fees are:

2.9%+ flat fee of $0.30CAD (per transaction)

In comparison here are Facebook and Etsy fees:

- Etsy: 9.5% + flat fee of $0.45 USD
- Facebook: 5%. If sale is less than $8 USD you pay flat fee of $0.40 USD.

Here is a short demo video  of the seller dashboard:

A post on the free stuff that Smithlist offers to the community.

https://blog.smithlist.net/basic-smithlist-directory-guide/

Smithlist has hit 150 listings, and continues to grow daily!

Marketplace I am hoping to have ready for mid next week.

3 hours ago, Alan Longmire said:

As long as you don't have the welder's shakes now you're probably okay.  If you get the shakes after a day of welding, you're getting a dose for sure.  As long as it goes away by the next day, while you're still in the danger zone, hope for the best.  I only got the shakes once, and that was enough.  I was welding up a 1m x 2m fireplace screen on a cold day, and I kept the doors shut and no fan running, using old damp 6013 rods.  Damp rods (which probably aren't a big problem where you are!) make far more fumes that tend to hang around longer.  I could smell and taste metal for a couple of days after, but only had a headache and the shakes for about an hour the night after all the welding.  I'd just as soon not repeat the experience, I have a bit of tremor in my hands at the best of times, not related to metal fume, just essential tremor.  When I was about 10 years old I was told I could never be a surgeon or a pilot because my hands shake too much!  The ensuing 40-some years hasn't seen much improvement. 

 

 

My dads side of the family has essential tremor running down it. I have it worse than my dad, it is quite noticeable and effects my writing a fair bit. You learn to deal with it quite well, time the shake is an art lol. I am still a good shot even though I shake, all about timing!

I have seen video of the bend test, it is brutal. I cringe hard watching it and it is not even my knife lol.

I am not real familiar with how the ABS course and tests work. What would have happened if anything if one or both would have failed testing?

Grats on passing!

18 hours ago, billyO said:

Thanks @Lorne W.  Great site!

Welcome, glad you like it.

I have made a short video of how to get the most out of a listing, and why.

Lucky you are not litchenfried! 

Very cool hammer.

I cleaned lol. Slowly but surely getting my shop ready to start forging, still a ton to do.

It does not help when the wife constantly is shipping me stuff from the house! My forge has been sitting in the same place unused since I got it.

Ticket sale system for events is now live. It needs some prettying, but it is functional.

23 minutes ago, billyO said:

Hello Lorne.  Is this up yet?  I tried registering and nothing happened.

 

It is, yes. You should have received an activation email with a link to click.

If you did not, can you DM me the email you signed up with so I can have a look please.

Note: When entering password on account creation it needs to be shown as "Strong" or it wont will be accepted. I have added a note on account creation about password strength.

Marketplace is getting close to ready, as is project blackout (taking the theme to the darkside).

I have added bladesmithforum.com to "Friends" in the top menu.

5 minutes ago, Alan Longmire said:

I see you figured out you can edit the thread titles now. 

 

Want me to move it somewhere more prominent?

Yeah, not sure how I missed that, I will blame the kids or the dog though. Ah I think you gave me the privilege for it, thanks

Sure, much appreciated!

I'll be making a new thread about the list, finally after two years I have the time to take it to the next level, lots of features and updates coming to the list. over the next 1-2 weeks. Here are a few key points:

- List is no longer just Canadian, it is expanding to include North America (USA and Mexico to start)

- We will be doing regular live stream interviews of those willing that are listed on the directory

- Fully integrated marketplace. Your listing will also become your store where you can sell your wares (0 fees)

- New theme, better map and locators, auto address fill

- Autosave searches and create a list

- Blog featuring regular guides on smithing

..... to be continued

1 hour ago, Kreg Whitehead said:

I just filled out your become a seller page....hit register....and am not sure if I got registered or not.

Just took me back to the same page with no prompt saying it was successful.

Hi Kreg,

I am in the process of rebuilding it so it might not be behaving properly. I will have a look and see what is up with it.

1 hour ago, Stuart Samuel said:

Thanks, Lorne, much appreciated! (Not a bladesmith, but a professional metalworker, so plenty of overlap. )

This might seem like a small thing to our friends to the south but Canada is a) Uh... pretty big, even with most of us crowded down near the border, and b) Not... always the most popular shipping destination from the US. Being able to order something that's already in the country saves the headache of tariffs, and watching the cost of an item double when shipping is added.

Happy to help and give something back

Updated 2023-08-26  (this is a work in progress..)

Note: The website is under active development and you may notice some colors and layout are not quite right, it is fine to use.

About Smithlist

Smithlist was started by myself and Lando Novak in January 2021. It was created in the hopes that we could make finding smiths, suppliers, schools, and related services in different areas easier. It also gives smiths and related services an opportunity to have new eyes on them, and hopefully help their shops or business in that way.

It was up until a few days ago only for Canada, but I have now opened it up to North America (USA and Mexico to start). With that also came the move from the .ca domain to the .net which I completed a couple of days ago.

I originally had planned to add more features as well as a marketplace, but alas Murphy had other plans, so for the last two years I have only had to time to maintain what was already built...... until now.

I finally have the time to take Smithlist where I has always envisioned it being, lots to come!

What is Smithlist?

Smithlist is a searchable online directory where blacksmiths, bladesmiths, farriers, schools, and related suppliers can list themselves free of charge and those interested in their services can search and find them easily. A integrated marketplace that will allow people with listings (called "places" on the site) to add and sell their items is currently in development and will be ready in the next 1-2 weeks.

Also planned are live streamed video interviews for those with listings and stores on the site, as well as live streams of smith and farriers doing their work.

Why Use it?

The more people that add listings and stores, and talk about it the more use and traffic it will get which is good for everybody involved. I have been getting some feedback from people that have listings currently and the directory is working. They are getting new eyes on them and sales that have come from Smithlist, and it should only increase from this point forward.

Here are some of the things you can currently do on Smithlist

• Add your shop or business (called a "place") which will then be searchable based on location or map. Some people do not want to add an address, that is fine, it is not a requirement. You can add links to your social media, website, email, phone number, as many pictures as you like, and videos.
• Your customers can drop reviews on your listing, these reviews will show up on the front page.
• Post events on your listing, these are displayed on a calendar visible on your listing page.
• Submit blog posts and guides related to smithing or farrier work.
• Tickets - Sell tickets from your listing, could be handy for classes and the like.
• Marketplace - Full fledged marketplace (opened on 2023-09-15)

More cool stuff coming to Smithlist in the next couple of weeks

• Facebook connect - You can connect with Facebook as a login to Smithlist. Once the marketplace is live you can also import any items from Facebook by simply inputting the URL.
• Full fledged marketplace which is integrated into your listing. Sell any smithing related items, chat with customers, configure shipping as you want, allow customers to follow your store, and much more.
• Auctions - Full auction system. Something I have seen work well in the past is live stream the forging of an item, it can be a series of stream if needed. You then auction off that item.
• Custom Orders - For the marketplace, will allow sellers to allow customer to build custom items based on materials and other conditions. Customer should be able to build a custom knife, receive a price instantly and order.

https://smithlist.net

I have been working on a marketplace specifically for Bladesmiths and related suppliers of materials, tools, and equipment. I opened it up a few days ago and am inviting everybody here to have a look and see if you might be interested in using it.

The site is here: https://lambowie.com

If you want to sell click the "Become A Seller" on the home page and fill out the form. All vendors are verified, for those of you here that are a member in good standing for at least a few months I will take that as proof enough. Once I approve your registration you will be sent an email and you can start posting items for sale, there is no selling fees at this time. I will keep it free for as long as possible, especially during the current situation. At some point I will need to add a small fee to sales (3-4%) which is used to cover costs, my time and promotion and advertising to keep a good flow of fresh visitors.

Buyers can use credit card or PayPal to buy and if you are a seller you must have PayPal and enter your PayPal email in your vendor dashboard to receive payments from your sales. The marketplace is mostly search driven so if you sell make sure to enter relevant tags to your items to make them easier to find.

Tell The Story

People love to hear the story behind the people they are buying from, as well as the story of an individual piece such as a knife or sword. I am adding the ability for sellers to write and publish articles and guides t the blog. Document a blade being finished and link the article back to the blade in your store. Buyers enjoy this and it also helps to bring new people from the search engines which is good for everybody.

I am working on some new features such as the ability for buyers to chat will sellers directly on the site, listing stores by country and a few other things, let me know if there is something you would like to see added.

There are a couple of smiths already using the marketplace and posting us some beautiful work, a few f you here may even know them  I hope you like it and will participate in using it!

Thank you to   @Alan Longmire for giving me the go ahead to post about it, appreciated!

That is an excellent deal by the looks of it.

I now do just tar which is $30CAD per fluid ounce. Oil and pitch can be made on request to desired consistency.

Here is a video I made this summer of me treating my leather workboots with the tar and talking a bit about it and how tar was used in the past with Russia leather. Tar has an amazing ability to waterproof while still breathing really well. It also resists mould extremely well.

I am rebuilding this post (WIP)

I cut a lot of firewood each year, all of it Birch. I was trying to figure out how I could utilise the tree fully as it seemed wasteful to put all that bark through the woodstove. Somehow I stumbled on an article about Birch tar and got very well drawn in by the process and history of it. Started making it and using it, and found it extremely useful and very good at treating / waterproofing wood and leather. It also imparts a very unique smoky smell that is long-lasting on anything you apply it to, Russia leather was well known for this.

Wood Treatment

Gives a very durable, waterproof finish with a patina type sheen. Repels all types of insects and is extremely resistant to mould and fungus, and the smell as mentioned is quite special. An ounce of tar is enough I would wager a guess to do anywhere from 10-15 handles of regular size. I will post some pictures of different types finished with tar in the near future. I have one fella that buys it off me fairly regular for his rifle stocks.

Birch Tar: $30 CAD per Fluid Ounce

If you are interested in anything to do with Birch bark just let me know I can probably make it happen.