Switched from a hand crank blower to electric after 15 years of fighting that thing

I got this old hand crank blower at an auction back in 2008. Thought it was authentic and cool. And it was, for about the first year. Then my shoulder started complaining every time I had to forge something bigger than a nail. Last Tuesday I finally caved and bought a $200 electric blower off Amazon. Night and day difference. I can actually focus on the steel temp instead of worrying about arm fatigue. My fire stays consistent and I'm not sweating through my shirt before I even start hammering. Has anyone else made this switch and felt like an idiot for waiting so long?

2 comments

2 Comments

aaronlee1mo ago

Ngl, I kinda disagree with you here. It really depends on what kind of work you're doing, and for me that old hand crank setup taught me to read the fire way better since I had to be deliberate about air. I'm glad the electric works for you, but I don't think the manual way is something to feel dumb about.

stone.simon1mo ago

Had a buddy who used one of those hand crank setups for years, @aaronlee, and he swore by it for learning to feel the heat changes in real time. He switched to electric and said it was faster but he lost that instinct for when the fire needed a little more air or a little less. So I get where you're coming from, it's not dumb if it made you better at reading the fire.