Yea, I would wonder why hobby engineering isn’t on the list, or something like ‘maker’ I think 3d printing as a stand alone is more of a support, it would be like, instead of woodworking, the hobby is ‘sawing’ it’s part of it, but engineering is what the hobby is actually.
Because a blacksmith, woodworker or a metalworker are all makers. Ultimately what matters is it is a highly skilled thing that triggers imagination and creates something out of “nothing”. Differentiating between those as hobbies is a matter of how often the hobby is chosen / represented online. There are more woodworkers than metalworkers. Less blacksmiths, so you think of “blacksmith” less when asked what’s “hot”.
I’ve met a TON of blacksmiths and they usually just look like normal guys but slightly more buff, often overweight. The machinery does most of the work.
I only know one guy who is into blacksmithing and - being a nerd myself, I saw this with kindness - but this dude is a super nerd. He’s also one of the scrawniest dudes I know. I’ve heard him tell women that he’s into blacksmithing before and it definitely does not have the desired effect that this chart would imply.
You always have to consider Rule #1 when taking these things into account.
Being handy is attractive. Getting a nice unique present is cool. And blacksmiths / woodworkers are the ones that do that kind of stuff.
So explain why IS 3D printing not higher on the list then?
Because downloading an stl and hitting print isn’t really craftsmanship
Yea, I would wonder why hobby engineering isn’t on the list, or something like ‘maker’ I think 3d printing as a stand alone is more of a support, it would be like, instead of woodworking, the hobby is ‘sawing’ it’s part of it, but engineering is what the hobby is actually.
Because a blacksmith, woodworker or a metalworker are all makers. Ultimately what matters is it is a highly skilled thing that triggers imagination and creates something out of “nothing”. Differentiating between those as hobbies is a matter of how often the hobby is chosen / represented online. There are more woodworkers than metalworkers. Less blacksmiths, so you think of “blacksmith” less when asked what’s “hot”.
I’m also willing to bet that the blacksmith they are picturing looks very different from your average blacksmith.
I’ve met a TON of blacksmiths and they usually just look like normal guys but slightly more buff, often overweight. The machinery does most of the work.
To be fair my limited experience with blacksmithing has given me the distinct impression that I would have magnificent arms if I did it regularly
While there’s some outliers especially thanks to power hammers, a dedicated blacksmith looks a lot closer to a strongman competitor than mr universe.
I only know one guy who is into blacksmithing and - being a nerd myself, I saw this with kindness - but this dude is a super nerd. He’s also one of the scrawniest dudes I know. I’ve heard him tell women that he’s into blacksmithing before and it definitely does not have the desired effect that this chart would imply.
You always have to consider Rule #1 when taking these things into account.