A Bad/Good Example Of Smith Work

Simple candle cup. 1/4 plate and 1/4 rod. Made as a quick thank you gift for some of my movie folks.
So, Im going to take this moment to explain why this isnt a well composed item. Its a trap many new smiths fall into. Now, let me start by saying, I needed a quick gift and this fits the bill, 30 mins, and this is out the door. And there are plenty of you who will say, "This is Great!" let me be clear, its not and its important that you, as a smith, understand why its this sort of thing that you need to avoid. This is what I refer to as a bastard piece. So, look at that base plate, it -is- in fact, very nice. Good heavy plate, rough and clear forge marks, it makes the average observer marvel at how steel could be made to act like putty. (The tail could have been better but you get the gist) Now, look at the candle cup. Clean symmetrical lines and looks like something that came right out of Pier One back in the day. In fact, many of the candle pieces that came out of that store were made like this. And if you are observant and a proper smith, the first thing you should be thinking is joinery. None to be seen, which most likely means a big ol' electric weld inside the cup. So you have this good base plate with a terrible cup. Why go through the effort of doing something nice just to top it off with crap? Now there are expediences, such as mine, but as proper practice one should -always- match the quality of your components. If i had just welded scrap together, the cup would have been fine but to mismatch something like this is poor form and should be avoided.

Stamp and hammer marks look great, the burned linseed oil finish is up to par

Not much exciting about this piece. it will do but any smith should strive to do better