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Ideas For Hammer-Ins

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Hi Folks,

A Brief Overview

I recently attended my third ABS Hammer-in, the third annual New England Bladesmithing Symposium and Knife Show. It started out great three years ago, and continues to grow. I believe there have more people each year and that the event was in the black this summer! There were four ABS master smiths and two journeyman smiths presenting workshops and demonstrations this year as well as others pitching in with the open forge sessions. The days are well organized in their divisions of time, array of subjects, movement of attendees and usage of space and expertise. Most of the sessions ran in two hour increments. Each session consisted of two demonstrations and an open forge area run concurrently. It works well. Some of the presenters invited, via these forums, attendees to bring some of their work and works-in-progress to the hammer-in for review and advice, if they wished. There was a thematic thread woven throughout many of the presentations--such as forging, heat-treating and performance testing--toward meeting the journeyman smith application requirements. I have enjoyed and appreciated these hammer-ins immensely!

Some Thoughts and Ideas.

[list]

  • Keep it up! It sure seems to be working by providing educational, experiential and community building support.

    .

  • Expand on the attendees' work and works-in-progress review and advice aspect. I brought a few blades, but found it somewhat awkward to approach the presenters for advise, especially as regarding timing. I did manage to show some stuff to Butch--when he was conducting a very crowded open forge session--and get some welcome ideas, but didn't take advantage of the cordiality of the many experts that were there. Perhaps this advice service could be formalized a bit more, even if by just giving it more voice via announcements and invitations (both before and during the event). I'm not sure if actually blocking some specific time(s) and/or spaces would be advantageous or not.

    .

  • The open forge and hands-on forging tutelage is marvelous and well attended. In fact, it was often difficult to squeeze ones way in there. Would it merit soliciting feedback from forge managers/instructors and the attendees with an eye for further analysis as to whether the open forge aspect of the hammer-ins should have more focus and resources devoted to it?

    .

  • Could something similar as the open forge sessions be done re grinding/filing and heat treating? It likely would be too much to tackle, but would be AMAZING if it could be.

    .

  • The cutting competition is lots of fun and tangentially educational for the spectators in that we see knife designs in action. What handles are most ergonomic? What blade profiles, edge geometries and points are best for what tasks? What manner of wielding the knives works well? Correspondingly, what doesn't work so well? Might it be possible for there to be a time when non-competition hammer-in attendees (who would like to) could receive some basic cutting instruction and have a chance to try the rope cutting and 2x4 chopping?

    .

  • Perhaps it would be good to provide more support for and solicitation of JS applicants at the hammer-ins? I'm just thinking "out loud" here: Maybe hammer-in attendees who are doing their performance test there could attend free or at a discount? (Although, it's already pretty darn low!) Or get a free pass for a guest? Or receive a gift certificate for ABS merchandise, books, DVD's, or future events, or something-or-other. I'm trying to get at some ideas to encourage folks to step up to the JS application plate, so to speak.

    .

  • Don't do completely away with the scholarships, but administer/grant them differently. (For instance, see the idea bullet immediately above this one.) This merits a separate discussion thread.

    Anyone else have any ABS Hammer-in comments and ideas?

    All the best, Phil

     
  • Posted : 24/07/2011 8:32 pm
    Admin_DJC305
    Posts: 1999
    Member
     

    Phil:

    This is an interesting Topic and thanks for posting it.

    Master Smith J.D. Smith had a new idea for the New England Hammer-In that was just held in Auburn,Maine. J.D. posted his idea on the ABS Forum just prior to the New England Hammer-In where he was an instructor for several demonstrations including Blade Design, Filework, and Grinding.

    J.D. wrote: "As far as my demos are concerned, it would be great if participants brought by drawings or actual blades they're working on for the blade design slot and finishing and filework portions as well. This way I'll be able to give real-time and concrete suggestions to everyone. It wouldn't hurt for people to bring their own files and tools as well; that way they'll be able to try some things while I'm there to lend a hand."

    Great idea J.D.! It will interesting to hear more ideas from our members. Are there new demonstrations or classes that you would be interested in?

    Dan Cassidy
    Journeyman Smith
    Send an email to Dan

     
    Posted : 25/07/2011 6:20 pm
    Admin_DJC305
    Posts: 1999
    Member
     

    Do any members have ideas or preferences for adding advanced demonstrations such as precious metal clay, gold inlay, handle carving, or engraving to the Hammer-Ins? You may not be aware but our Founder Bill Moran had the first ABS Hammer-In in Dubois, Wyoming more than 30 years ago and one of the demonstrations was on engraving a knife.

    Are there demonstrations that the Master Smiths and Journeyman Smiths would like to see added to our Hammer-Ins to advance their skills?

    Dan Cassidy
    Journeyman Smith
    Send an email to Dan

     
    Posted : 19/08/2011 9:06 am
    Lin Rhea
    Posts: 1563
    Member
     

    It's very good to see that the Hammer In sub forum is reaching out to the JS and MS makers as well. This will add more incentive for these to attend the Hammer Ins. Of course the classes will still lean heavily to the needs of the new makers, but some of the more advanced makers might feel left out if more advanced classes are not offered.

    I would like to see some classes on:

    Casting

    Case Hardening

    Soldering of similar and dissimilar metals, tinning, etc.

    Texturing

    Drawing and knife design

    Lin Rhea, ABS Mastersmith

    [email="[email protected]"]Email me[/email]

    www.rheaknives.com

     
    Posted : 19/08/2011 10:22 am
    Posts: 65
    Trusted Member Journeyman Bladesmith (5yr)
     

    I can think of a couple:

    Edge geometery and sharpening.

    Clay coating.

    One of the biggest decisions at a hammer-in is which demo/discussion to attend where two you really want to attend are going on at the same time. The only way I can think of to help over come this is to re-run the most popular of these at other times.

     
    Posted : 22/08/2011 10:01 am
    Admin_DJC305
    Posts: 1999
    Member
     

    Last Saturday I drove 3 hours each way to and from Denver to take a class on operating a metal lathe. It was an excellent class and I learned enough to be able to begin using my metal lathe in my bladesmithing work to start making knife components. I got the idea for using a metal lathe originally while viewing Bill Moran's Handles and Guards video. Bill Moran demonstrated the use of a metal lathe to make the guard for a Quillion Dagger on the video filmed many years ago in his Maryland shop.

    Is there an interest or demand for demonstrations on the use of a metal lathe, milling machine, or surface grinder at ABS Hammer-Ins?

    Dan Cassidy
    Journeyman Smith
    Send an email to Dan

     
    Posted : 24/08/2011 11:55 pm
    Posts: 203
    Estimable Member Journeyman Bladesmith
     

    |quoted:

    Last Saturday I drove 3 hours each way to and from Denver to take a class on operating a metal lathe. It was an excellent class and I learned enough to be able to begin using my metal lathe in my bladesmithing work. I got the idea for using a metal lathe originally while viewing Bill Moran's Handles and Guards video. Bill Moran demonstrated the use of a metal lathe to make the guard for a Quillion Dagger on the video filmed many years ago in his Maryland shop.

    Is there an interest or demand for demonstrations on the use of a metal lathe, milling machine, or surface grinder at ABS Hammer-Ins?

    I think that a demonstration for a very knife specific applications would be interesting. I wouldn't want to watch a general how to use a lathe class. However, using a lathe to make a pommel or quillion would be interesting.

     
    Posted : 25/08/2011 9:26 am
    Dale Huckabee
    Posts: 217
    Member
     

    Hi Dan,

    I for one would love to see demos on mills and lathes.

    Dale

    Dale Huckabee

    Journeyman Smith

    dalehuckabeeknives.weebly.com

     
    Posted : 25/08/2011 4:13 pm
    Posts: 775
    Noble Member Apprentice Bladesmith
     

    Something that I would like to attend would be a demo on heat control through the entire blade making process. There is so much to this and it would be great to hear from the masters about how they do it.

    Gary

     
    Posted : 26/08/2011 9:14 am
    Admin_DJC305
    Posts: 1999
    Member
     

    We have the dates and locations for the 2012 ABS Hammer-Ins but the demonstrators and demonstrations are still mostly in the planning stage.

    Do any members have ideas or preferences for adding advanced demonstrations such as Quillon Daggers, hamons, using computer software for knife design, precious metal clay, gold inlay, handle carving, using a milling machine or lathe to make knife parts, or engraving to the Hammer-Ins in 2012?

    Are there demonstrations that you would like to see added to our Hammer-Ins to advance your skills? Now is a good time to discuss your ideas for what you want to see and learn more about this year. I will make sure that your ideas are brought to the attention of the Hammer-In Coordinators.

    Dan Cassidy
    Journeyman Smith
    Send an email to Dan

     
    Posted : 18/01/2012 2:01 pm
    Posts: 65
    Trusted Member Journeyman Bladesmith (5yr)
     

    Hi Dan I would love to see a demo or discussion on hamons at the GSM in March. Would also be interested in using computers in the design process. Thanks!

     
    Posted : 19/01/2012 6:40 am
    Posts: 203
    Estimable Member Journeyman Bladesmith
     

    The two out of the list that jump out at me are hamons and the quillion dagger. Hamons are interesting and I would love to see how others do it. Quillion daggers are fascinating and the ones I have seen are put together with a lot of thought and use interesting construction techniques.

     
    Posted : 19/01/2012 11:44 pm
    Admin_DJC305
    Posts: 1999
    Member
     

    Dale, Gary, Barry and Allen:

    Thank you for your requests. I will pass them on to the ABS Hammer-In Coordinators and see if they can work them into their programs.

    If anyone else has any additional ideas or requests please post them.

    Dan Cassidy
    Journeyman Smith
    Send an email to Dan

     
    Posted : 20/01/2012 12:31 am
    Posts: 209
    Estimable Member Journeyman Bladesmith (5yr)
     

    This is a great opportunity for members to voice their thoughts of what they would like to see at hammer ins and I encourage everyone to make this an active thread. It is a great chance to make the hammer ins even better.

    To that end:

    Take down construction

    Do's and don'ts tips and tricks in using irovy for handles -- methods to insure your success with Ivory

    Advance sheaths -- throat and tip -- silver sheaths

    Engraving

    Brian

     
    Posted : 03/02/2012 8:08 pm
    Lin Rhea
    Posts: 1563
    Member
     

    Handle carving is one that comes to mind.

    A few years ago Bailey Bradshaw MS did a demo that was nice.

    Lin Rhea, ABS Mastersmith

    [email="[email protected]"]Email me[/email]

    www.rheaknives.com

     
    Posted : 04/02/2012 5:16 am
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