Watched a kid hammer out his first bottle opener over 3 hours, and it finally clicked why we all struggled at the start

Kim Reed · 2026-09-30T21:05:04.687135+00:00

A guy brought his 14 year old son into the forge on Saturday and the kid spent 3 hours turning a piece of 3/8 round stock into a bottle opener. In the first hour his hammer blows were landing soft and all over the place, then somewhere around hour two he figured out he had to hit the metal right at the edge of the anvil and keep his wrist locked. The difference in those last few inches was huge, the taper was even and the curl actually looked intentional. I've been forging for 11 years and I still catch myself choking up on the hammer when I'm nervous about a bend. Does anyone here teach new folks a specific drill for keeping the wrist steady, or do you just let them burn through stock like I did?

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Watched a kid hammer out his first bottle opener over 3 hours, and it finally clicked why we all struggled at the start | Blacksmiths - Thought Shares