To make something which is both aesthetically pleasing and inherently beautiful from something ordinary and plain is to say the least very satisfying, to do this when the starting point is a pile of scrap is doubly so. I think it must be in my blood but the old Yorkshire saying “owt for nowt” (anything for nothing) certainly strikes a cord when it comes to my enjoyment of making Damascus (pattern welded steel), an old worn out file and a few pieces of broken saw blades can be turned into the most exquisitely patterned and usable knife. Leaf-springs, pure iron, mild steel, wrought iron, old tools , infact virtually all the different steels from the scrap heap can be transformed into stunningly patterned objects. This has got to be one of the most satisfying and quite often obsessive techniques in the blacksmith’s world.