#0003 Tools & Fools

Which one was made by a craftsman and which one was made by a fool with a tool?

There’s been a lot of talk lately about design tools. Something on my desk helped me focus my feelings on the matter.

While visiting a friend’s blacksmithing shop, he wanted to show off his new toy: a gigantic, industrial grade power hammer. I mean, this thing was huge. He had to reinforce the concrete floor in order to accommodate the thing. He pulled a metal billet from his forge and used long tongs to hold it under the power hammer.

Note: If you’ve never been around a power hammer in operation, imagine an eight foot tall steam engine that can hammer like John Henry with the speed of Muhammed Ali… and it’s LOUD!

I watched him hammer that piece of metal over and over again. Returning it to the forge to keep it hot and soft. He moved quickly and decidedly. Before long, he produced a perfectly round disk with his insignia stamped in it. Then he turned to me and said…

Want to give it try?

It’s a giant noise maker that’s dangerous, of course I said yes.

I followed his example exactly. Hammer, turn, hammer, heat, hammer, turn, hammer, heat, and on and on. After a while I had created… a lumpy, dumb-looking piece of scrap metal.

Same tool. Same steps. Vastly different results.

Design tools are simply that. Tools. In the hands of a craftsman, used judiciously, they can supplement the work. In the hands of a fool? Well, you can see how that turns out.