I did not get here alone.
Photo by Charlotte Kesl
The wood of my hammer handle came from a hickory tree, farmed and formed and sent to me. The electricity I run my shop with comes from others labor and ingenuity. The Steel I forge my blades with is shipped from New Jersey. Also in New Jersey, in a brick factory, in the year 1912 (over a hundred years ago!) men worked hard days, and hard nights to bring the anvil I Forge my Steel on into being.
I did not get here alone.
The Iron Studio at Penland
I’ve mentioned my teacher Yaw Owusu Shangofemi. I’ve lost touch with him by the way, and would love to get a hold of him again, if anyone knows how.
I’ve been to the Penland School of Crafts, and learned much there from Mark Maiorana.
I took a hot work chisel class at Leslie Tharp’s shop, taught by a traveling GutterSmith who’s name I have forgotten.
All these folks have been paid for their services however. Either in Labor or money. I’d like to talk for a moment now about those who have not been paid. In fact these folks have been paying it forward. Folks in my time as a Blacksmith who have helped me to learn, without once asking for anything in return.
The Florida Artists Blacksmith Association gets a good deal of credit in this regard. They are an organization entirely dedicated to the spread of the knowledge of the Ancient Art of Blacksmithing, and run completely by volunteers. It’s through FABA that I have come to know these most generous spirits willing to share their knowledge, just for the joy of it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thanked someone for showing me a new technique only for them to say something like:
“Well, it was showed to me by Old Schwartz Smith, so it’s really his technique. He taught me a few things , so I’m just passing it along”
It is amazing.
Where I expected a group of Old Crusty Curmudgeons hoarding their knowledge for fear of it getting out and breeding too much competition, I instead found a group of Old Crusty Curmudgeons perfectly willing to pass what knowledge they have, on to those with the hunger and will to use it.
A blade from Ironflower Forge
Let’s start with Dr. Steve Bloom. I thought I was going to be on Forged in Fire. I had never made Pattern Welded Steel before. I had recently joined FABA and had heard of Steve from some other members. I emailed him cold, asking if I could come by his shop and just watch him forge. He said I’d be welcome to come by. What I got from Dr. Bloom was an intense crash course on the particulars of heat treating, and an amazing demostration of how to forge multiple layers of Steel into a single billet. I will never forget, and always appreciate the generosity of Dr. Steve Bloom.
The full gate. Kirk and I worked on the Palm Tree center top.
Kirk Sullens worked for Bass Pro Shops, as a blacksmith, for I don’t know how many years. One of the very few mainstream large companies to still employ a blacksmith on it’s payroll at least at that time.. One day Kirk sends me a message that he would like my help on a project. So I show up at Kirk’s house and he has some real wrought iron and needs to make a portion of a gate for a tribute to Phillip Simmons. He had heard that I had apprenticed under Yaw, who himself was an apprentice to Simmons. If you need to know who Phillip Simmons was these folks can tell his story better than I : http://www.philipsimmons.us/aboutsimmons.html
I think I made 2 or 3 of the fronds here, I am proud to say I cannot tell which ones.
Kirk didn’t really need help. He’s been blacksmithing longer than I’ve been an adult! But he showed me things about working wrought iron I never new. I think we may have learned a few things together.
Chuck Fowler has loaned me the use of one of his awesome Monster Forges, for the Hoggetowne Medieval Faire.
Peter Hill, and Ben Thompson supported me just recently in going to a Tire Hammer Workshop in Louisiana.
All these folks I met through FABA. These, and many other smiths that my faulty brain has forgetten to mention have helped to play a roll in teaching me new skills, and growing as a Blacksmith.
To say I am grateful, and humbled would be to say that the Ocean is a bit damp.
I did not get here alone
and I am proud to say it.
Following are some links to the websites of the folks I mentioned.
The links are also attached to their names as well.
FABA: http://blacksmithing.org/
IronFlower Forge: http://ironflowerforge.com/
Kirk Sullens: https://kirksullens.com/
Thompson Crafted: https://www.facebook.com/thompsoncrafted/