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A Craftsman's Legacy~ on PBS

Omega Man

Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat
Staff member
I've been watching this series on PBS for a while- and it's well done. Hosted by Eric Gorges, it's not the typical show where you doubt the host has any ability and he just somehow landed the job.
From the About section-

In today’s disposable, “get-it-the next-day” consumer world, one might even struggle with the question “Why is a Craftsman important?”

You can answer that question by asking yourself whether you prefer a home grilled steak over a frozen one you throw in the microwave? Or would you prefer a hand written note from someone you care about, over a mass produced greeting that a million people have held in their hands.

It’s personal.

And it goes back to our very core as people. When you first made a hand-turkey in grade school, and gave it to your Mother, was it ever about the piece of construction paper and how accurate the feathers were? No. It was meaningful because it came from you. Your hands, your talent, your imagination and creativity. And that’s why your Mom never threw it away. It was a part of you and that’s not something she ever wanted to lose.

It’s personal.

For centuries, women and men have created things others needed or wanted and they became specialists in that creation, usually after a long period of apprenticing under another Craftsman. The cobbler making shoes, the blacksmith making cooking utensils, the glassblower making a vase. No matter what it was, it was made by someone who used their inner talents, combined with their education and experience to make something that would last. Its quality was the Craftsman’s very reputation.

It’s personal.

Maybe we don’t need a hand carved set of salad bowls on our dinner table, but it doesn’t mean they don’t still represent something important. It only means we’ve lost our ability to appreciate the quality and the fact that someone put part of themselves into that creation. But if you’ve ever paid attention to the 25 year-old carpenter who’s finishing your cabinets, or watched a 90 year-old Cuban woman roll a cigar with her aging hands, there’s no question it’s important to them.

It’s personal.

A Craftsman’s Legacy will open up a world for you that was always there…maybe it’s a world you used to know, or watched your grandfather live in. A world where people forsake money over pride in the work. People who don’t just choose to work with their hands, like a poet or a singer, they have to walk this path. Your host, Eric Gorges is a Craftsman and he’ll guide you back down the path of American ingenuity and creative honesty. For Eric Gorges,

It’s VERY personal.

If you have an appreciation for a job well done or are a craftsman in your own right, chances are you will enjoy seeing a talented host....working with talented people.

http://www.craftsmanslegacy.com/Home

If you miss the show on PBS, episodes are available on Vimeo.

OM
 
While I don't dispute the niceness of craftsperson made items, it's another step along in human evolution when engineering, materials science, cad/cam design, etc. enters the picture.

It's also another step along when the wages for one's work moves beyond sourcing from physical labor to compensation for solving new challenges with brainpower.

One of the coolest things I own is an iPhone and it's hard to associate the notion of "craftsmanship" with it, but it is for sure a wonderful human accomplishment.

One of the things that engineering and brainpower accomplishes is reducing costs, thereby possibly bringing more nice things to more people. This tends to move beyond the traditional view of craftsmanship, too.

One really great example is to compare a 1970s-1980s Airhead BMW with a current R1200 BMW. Created and assembled the same way as it was in those decades, the Airhead would likely cost today very near the same as the current bikes. None of that product improvement is an accomplishment of craftspersons.
 
None of that product improvement is an accomplishment of craftspersons.

I have a very hard time not considering tool & die makers / machinists to be craftsmen. Sure, today's NC tools are different and more capable, but the guy running the machine has to maintain the same dedication and professionalism as those that proceeded him in a earlier day, using simpler machines.

What makes a person a craftman is the willingness to create something better. Lot's of folks can't get beyond following the recipe/plan.
 
Just got the new SS brake lines, on the package it said to take to qualified mechanic to install? Then I look over at the old R90S which I've worked on for decades, and got a chill. A person with gumption and old tools will always be making stuff. And fixing stuff. Not so much with a me phone.

I always remember the person in the first and last reality show, who went up to Alaska before it was illegal and hacked out a homestead with his bare hands, a few tools and a rifle. Filmed it too with 16mm. Guess he had a dog too. And then the guy who had a great career of some kind, but started a motorcycle repair business because fixing stuff was the mission. Progress is a tricky enterprise. The cult of change seems so alluring, and then someone pulls up on an airhead. Or the neighbor is fixing a salvage Camry to drive to work. In a few years someone may ask pointing at the Camry, "What's that?" Same for the airhead.

Neighbor said, "Don't leave that shovel outside, somebody may take it." I said, "Don't worry, they wouldn't know what to do with it."
 
While I don't dispute the niceness of craftsperson made items, it's another step along in human evolution when engineering, materials science, cad/cam design, etc. enters the picture.

It's also another step along when the wages for one's work moves beyond sourcing from physical labor to compensation for solving new challenges with brainpower.

One of the coolest things I own is an iPhone and it's hard to associate the notion of "craftsmanship" with it, but it is for sure a wonderful human accomplishment.
Interesting........Glad you like the iPhone. If you bought it new, and it came in a box, you got to see some craftsmanship in the way that Apple product was packaged.


One of the things that engineering and brainpower accomplishes is reducing costs, thereby possibly bringing more nice things to more people. This tends to move beyond the traditional view of craftsmanship, too.
Interesting as well. As I look at the Ironworker, the various welders and even the milling machine, there seems to be a common theme- they can't do anything without an operator.

One really great example is to compare a 1970s-1980s Airhead BMW with a current R1200 BMW. Created and assembled the same way as it was in those decades, the Airhead would likely cost today very near the same as the current bikes. None of that product improvement is an accomplishment of craftspersons.
For me, a craftsman is someone that knows the tool, knows what to do with the tool, and if there is no tool- can make the tool.
If someone is lucky enough to have some artistic ability, some creativity and some desire- the possibilities are endless.
OM
 
I guess I'm biased as I am a retired product design engineer and a passionate woodworker. As I ride my new RT, I look at the stylist who made the sketches, then the clay model, the product design engineer using his cad tools to create the model, and the cnc programmer/operator who makes the tooling to produce the product all craftsmen. All worked with their head and their hands to produce an incredible product.
I also enjoy A Craftman's Legacy.
 
This show is one of my favourites as I can appreciate the time it takes to design & make something with your hands.

He poses some interesting questions like " Do you consider yourself a Artist or a Craftsman?"
 
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