Steve Culver spent the weekend locating, visiting, and obtaining lodging information for the Heartland Hammer-In to help make your arrangements easier. This is the information that Steve has obtained below.

Thank you Steve!

Accomodations for the Heartland Hammer-In:

All of the hotels below are within a few blocks of the event site at the Washburn Institute of Technology.

Motel 6 - Topeka West

1224 Wanamaker Road SW

Topeka, KS 66604

(785) 273-9888

Quality Inn

1240 S. W. Wanamaker Rd.

Topeka, KS, US, 66604

Phone: (785) 273-6969

Country Inn & Suites

6020 SW 10th Street

Topeka KS 66615, USA

Reservations: 1-800-596-2375

Super 8 Topeka/Wanamaker

5968 S.W. 10th Ave.

I-70/470 Exit Wanamaker Rd

Topeka, KS 66604 US

Phone: (785) 273-5100

Comfort Suites

6213 SW 10th Street

Topeka, KS, US, 66615

Phone: (785) 246-6777

Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites

901 SW Robinson Ave.

Topeka, KS 66606

Hotel Reservations : 1 800 315 2621

Hotel Front Desk : (785) 228-9500

Camping:

7.1 miles from the event site. No overnight camping is allowed on the WIT campus.

Capitol City KOA

1949 SW 49th

Topeka, KS 66609

Reservations: (800) 562-4793

Directions to the event:

DIRECTIONS: From the north, US 75 Highway, merge onto I-70 W/KS-4 W/US-40 W/US-75 S, Take exit 356 for Wanamaker Rd, Turn left onto SW Wanamaker Rd, Take the 3rd left onto SW Huntoon St, Drive .7 miles to destination, on left.

From the south, US 75 Highway, merge onto I-470 W, Take exit 1B for Wanamaker Rd, Turn right onto SW Wanamaker Rd, Take the 1st right onto SW Huntoon St, Drive .7 miles to destination, on left.

From the east,I-70, take exit 177 to merge onto I-470 W toward I-70/US-75/S Topeka, Take exit 1B for Wanamaker Rd, Turn right onto SW Wanamaker Rd, Take the 1st right onto SW Huntoon St Drive .7 miles to destination, on left.

From the west, I-70, take exit 355 to merge onto I-470 E/US-75 S, Take exit 1B for Huntoon St toward Wanamaker Rd, Turn left onto SW Huntoon St, Drive .8 miles to destination, on left.

The Manager of the Quality Inn called me last night to say that she is offering attendees of the Symposium a special rate of $69.99 + tax. Tell them that you are attending the Heartland Symposium to get the special rate.

The Final Schedule for the Heartland Symposium demonstrations is now available. This is an outstanding line-up of both demonstrators. Tell us if there are any specific areas that you want the demonstrators to cover during their presentations.

Final Schedule

2ND HEARTLAND BLADESMITHING SYMPOSIUM & KNIFE SHOW

Building D702, Washburn Institute of Technology, 5724 SW Huntoon Street, Topeka. KS 66604

Visit the Tail Gate Sales, Knife Suppliers, Demonstrations and the Hands on Forging.

Bring Auction Items to Auction Table. Show your Knives.

Knife Show & Auction are Open to the Public

FRIDAY, 30 September 2011

4-6 ​FORGE ---------------------------------REGISTRATION

6-9 ​CONFERENCE ROOM--------------DEMONSTRATOR'S DINNER, Everyone welcome

SATURDAY, 1 October 2011

7-8​ FORGE------------------------------REGISTRATION

8-10 FORGE -----------------------------BLADE FORGING with Steve Culver

CLASSROOM---------------------HANDLES & GUARDS with Dan Petersen

GREEN COAL--------------------HANDS ON FORGING with Dave Sloan

10-12 FORGE ----------------------------DAMASCUS STEEL with Steve Dunn

CLASSROOM---------------------HAND FINISHING with Russ Andrews

GREEN COAL--------------------HANDS ON FORGING with Jim Bevin

12-1 LUNCH

1-3 FORGE ------------------------------BLADE GRINDING with Steve Culver

CLASSROOM----------------------DAMASCUS PATTERNS with Steve Dunn

GREEN COAL---------------------HANDS ON FORGING with Russ Andrews

3-4 CONFERENCE ROOM----------KNIFE EXHIBITION & KNIFE SHOW with ALL

4-5​ CONFERENCE ROOM---------AUCTION with Colonel Billy Ray Hughes

ITEMS DONATED by ATTENDEES—See at Auction Table

PROCEEDS GO TO AMERICAN BLADESMITH SOCIETY. Donations are tax deductible.

7- 9 FORGE-----------------------------CUTTING DEMONSTRATIONS with ALL

SUNDAY, 2 October 2011

8-10 FORGE-------------------------------DAMASCUS STEEL with Steve Dunn

CLASSROOM-----------------------HANDLES & GUARDS with Dan Petersen

GREEN COAL----------------------HANDS ON FORGING with Jim Batson

10-12 FORGE-------------------------------BLADE HEAT TREATING & TESTING with Steve Culver

CLASSROOM-----------------------ABS JUDGING CRITERIA with Billy Ray Hughes

12 ​ CLOSING CEREMONY

HAVE A SAFE JOURNEY HOME

&

GOD BLESS

Looking forward to it. I will definitely be there. Steve if you need any help just ask.

Brion

We held the first Heartland Symposium at my shop last year; with 50 registered attendees. It went extremely well, but our concern for space if the attendance got any larger prompted us to look for another site for the event. The Washburn Institute of Technology has invited us to hold the Heartland Symposium on the school's campus.

The WIT campus is within a few blocks of numerous motels and also Topeka's main shopping and restaurant area. So, there is plenty to do for spouses who do not want to hang around the campus all weekend. There is ample parking around the facility and a great space for vendors to set up.

Washburn University is allowing us to use the WIT campus at no cost to the ABS. So, if you have the chance to thank any of the school's administrators during the event, it would be nice to show our appreciation.

The majority of the shop demos will be in the school's Welding Shop. The Welding Shop area includes a classroom, where some of the non- shop demos will be held. Some demos may be in the classroom of the adjoining Machine Shop.

Dr. Jim has me down for blade forging, blade grinding and blade heat-treating and testing. That's a lot to accomplish in a few hours. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//ohmy.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':o' /> I guess he hasn't heard that I'm a slow worker. I know Jimmy Crowell pulls this off at hammer-ins all the time. I suppose I'll have to step it up a bit!! <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

For those who have previously seen a blade forging and heat treating demo, I don’t know that I have any new methods to show. But, I think I have a unique way of explaining the blade grinding process that may be helpful to some. I will be using my KMG grinder for the demo. I have modified this machine to make it capable of more precise grinding and to also perform grinds that it was not originally designed to do. I'll bring the attachments that I have built for this machine and explain their uses.

Last year the Heartland Bladesmithing Symposium was the first ABS Hammer-In in Kansas with some great demonstrations and this year Jim Batson and Steve Culver have planned to present even more at the new site at Washburn Institute of Technology in Topeka.

Below are some video clips that I filmed at last year's Heartland Bladesmithing Symposium:

[media] http://www.youtube.c...h?v=D8B6-iJ1VA0 [/media]

[media] http://www.youtube.c...h?v=zE3GavXWv3o [/media]

All,

I hope a number of you can make it to the Heartland Bladesmithing Symposium. As one of the older master smiths, I get to do the handles and guards workshop. This is a workshop I have wanted to do for quite awhile and it has give me a chance to put together a really useful presentation. I have been spending some time putting the demo together. It involves some photos of knives and their handle construction in a powerpoint and actual demonstration pieces to show the process. I have even been trying to put a task breakdown together on a handout listing all the steps. Given enough time I would like to cover hidden tang handle construction and frame handle construction. Hopefully, there will be lots of visual aids to convey the processes involved. Handle construction to my way of viewing things is both a design (esthetic)and a technical construction process. I look forward to your participation and feedback.

Dan Petersen

Sounds great,Steve and Dan, I look forward to it. I hope I am able to see both of the presentations. I will see you there.

Brion

The proof for the T-Shirt for the 2011 Heartland Bladesmithing Symposium is pictured below:

I like the look of that shirt. I will have to get one before they sell out this time. Looking forward to it.

Brion

Uncle Al Lawrence, of Riverside Machine Shop, will be coming to the Heartland Symposium with his knifemaking tools and materials!! Be sure to visit Al and pick up all of your knifemaking supplies!

Thanks Al!!!

There is a lot of interest in the 2nd Heartland Bladesmithing Symposium set for this weekend of October 1st and 2nd. Yesterday, Master Smiths Steve Culver and Dan Petersen were invited guests on the Topeka TV Station WIBW show "13 News @4pm" and discussed the upcoming Heartland Bladesmithing Symposium with WIBW TV news anchor Ralph Hipp.

Congratulations and thank you to Steve and Dan.

The demonstrations at the Heartland were outstanding and I learned some new techniques. It was great to get together with both new and old friends in the ABS. The facilities and staff at Washburn Technical College were outstanding and their Culinary Arts Department prepared a delicious dinner for the Friday night Demonstrators Dinner.

Thank you to Steve Culver who was the ABS Heartland Hammer-In coordinator and to the Kansas Custom Knife Makers Association for all of the work in making this a successful event.

Thanks to everyone who attended the Symposium!!! I hope that you all had a good time and that you were able to learn a lot. I felt that it went very well.

As some of you know, I was waiting all weekend for our Daughter to call saying that she was in labor to deliver our 11th Grandchild. As I was driving home from the Symposium, I called Mary and found out that I had missed a text from the Daughter Sunday morning that she was going to the hospital. We unloaded all of the equipment as quickly as possible and immediately headed to Tulsa. Didn’t get to the hospital in time for the delivery, but got there soon after. We have a beautiful baby Granddaughter.

I’m still in Tulsa visiting the Daughter’s family. I’ve got more to post about the Symposium and will do so when I get home.

Thanks to again to all; and a special thanks to everyone who help load the equipment after the event!!!