Originally written, illustrated and self-published in 1998, "A Blacksmithing Primer" quickly became a much sought after instructional/resource book on forging metals. Both total novice and experienced smiths have gained valuable insight into forging from this book. Many schools are now using it as their forging textbook. In this new second edition, one change was the new color covers and moving the all color tempering chart to the inside back cover and another was the new auto-bind binding. A new binding technique that still allows the book to lay flat for easy access without damaging the book or binding.