McDaniel's A Blacksmithing Primer is a strong beginner book. It is well-illustrated and is good for getting your terms and ideas straight. I don't think there would be much for the advanced blacksmith to take away from it. It is mostly a broad, cursory treatment of tools and technique. You can get a pretty clear idea of where he's going with the extensive table of contents; most of the topics in it are treated in one to three pages.
While the book boasts over 20 projects, many of them are simply self-contained technique demonstrators, and not a finished project that a beginner could use or display. It would be more encouraging working through the projects if they were more complete. The book also omits any discussion of design, focusing only on execution and technique. While a broad discussion of blacksmithing design may be beyond the book's scope, a few pages to guide the learner may have been nice.
I don't want to totally pan this book. If I had no access to a guild or group of blacksmiths, it would be a very helpful first text. This book would be a good book to investigate the hobby, but expect to outgrow it quickly.
I rate the book a 7/10. Beginners should definitely check it out, but more experienced blacksmiths need not apply.
