Thank you for your response Thomas.
Yes, coal smoke can be something that attracts a lot of attention, however smoke from coke is really only noticeable in the start-up phase, and smoke from charcoal is no more obtrusive than smoke from a BBQ.
Certainly a hammer on an anvil does make some noise, but in a normal residential environment it is really no more than might be expected from the usual weekend activity of home maintenance, certainly not something for anybody to get upset about. Of course, any type of heavy power hammer, even an Oliver, is out of the question in a residential setting.
Grinding can be very noisy, as can any machine process, but use of other techniques can reduce noise considerably, and in my experience are not noticeably slower for finely crafted work. For example, if you use an angle grinder to remove fire scale, the softer heart of the forging is exposed and it is easy to file, particularly so if the forging has been annealed prior to beginning the bench work.
Files, scrapers, cold chisels, and the use of rubbing sticks, rather than machine processes can reduce noise to almost nothing, and the use of these techniques automatically assumes the nature of a form of active meditation.
Try using the old way of doing things Thomas, it is far more satisfying than using electricity.
Yes, I know I have just recommended use of an angle grinder, and angle grinders use electricity, however it takes only a few minutes to remove fire scale from a forging, and the processing following removal of the scale is not something that can be heard outside the workshop. Fire scale can be removed with a file, but it is a lengthy process and wears out the file.
As to time taken to produce historically accurate items, the longest time I ever spent on a blade --- note, "BLADE" not a complete knife --- was 49 man-days, +/- 400 man-hours. Time is totally irrelevant when one is attempting to achieve perfection.
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