Julious,

Glad you are enjoying the class. The amount of information you will obtain is amazing and worth every penny it cost. Enjoy!

Bob

Thanks for the observations Julious. Always nice to hear someones thoughts and experiences.

Great set of instructors Julious. Thank you for posting and keep us informed. It will get easier, or should I say less tiring as the week goes on. I am sure that people would really like to have your thoughts and experiences in the class.

Brion

Yes, please do give a report as you get time. I remember well my class with Joe Keeslar and Greg Neely. I learned so much. I will enjoy hearing about it.

To echo what Lin said , I will read anything your willing to share and thanks for doing so. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

Thank you for the responses. Just the inspiration I needed to post today's impressions.

Today was easier. My blisters look worse. New ones were created. But they don't seem to hurt as much. At last count I noticed 6. 5 of which have broken open. I think I am doing something wrong, as I seem to have the most blisters of anyone in the class.

Blisters aside, the class is doing what it was created to do. It is giving me an intro to bladesmithing, and it is teaching me something. The first blade I tried to forge this morning showed that I was learning. I can feel it slowly coming together. As someone that has ground a lot of blades, I can say that forging is an alien experience to me. This is day two. 8 more class days to go. I can see why this is a 10 day class. For me it is proving to be less challenging than the slip joint folder class. As for difficulty compared to my liner lock class, I would say it is equal to it. Just as difficult, but in a different way. For someone that had never ground a blade, the experience may be different.

Today I got to briefly use a power hammer for the first time. I want one!

Today was the first time I got to witness Jason Knight do any grinding. I stand by my previous statement. He is an incredible grinder. It was a great learning experience.

There was also some discussion about design. Blade design and handle shaping. Advantages to specific shapes and geometries involved with each.

I also stand by my statement that Jason is a big kid. At lunch today he advised the waitress to "never take bubble gum out of the mouth of a barking dog". During class he stated that "People don't like to hug people on fire". His wisdom and since of humor seem to be without match. That may be a good thing <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//wink.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />

Being a big kid may be one of Jason's strongest assets. He seems to truly enjoy life. He definitely has a love for knives. He told me today that if he didn't have to work for a living, that he would still make knives. He would just get to keep more of them. This is a sentiment that I can strongly relate to.

Getting to learn anything from a mastersmith is worth the time and effort. This class in its first 2 days is proving to be a great example of this.

Stay tuned for more impressions tomorrow.

Julious,

You have two Great instructors. My week two was with Jason and I took another class with him. Jim was my Handles and Guards instructor. If I had known they where teaching this class I would have taken Intro again. Pay close attention to grinding and finishing tips Jason casually gives you. Jim's forging techniques are second to none. You are right about a busy two weeks with them. A lot of notes will be very important, no way you will remember it all.

Have fun!

Lin,

I have to say that I think you make some of the most beautiful bowie knives that I have seen.

Thank you sir. I am enjoying the class experience through your eyes.

Day 3 began for me at about 4:30 am. That was when I woke up thinking about knives, the class, and putting it all together. Finally got back to sleep at about 5:30am. Alarm went off at 6:30am. My mind started processing information the first hour of the class on day 1. It has been working hard sometimes in the foreground, and sometimes in the background since then. This morning at 8am I began forging another bowie. Amazingly it all seemed much less difficult. I still feel like I know very little about forging. I do however feel like I am far more competent today at it, then I was yesterday. It's not just me. I can see improvement in everyones work.

My blisters look the worst that they have. Amazingly enough they didn't feel that bad today. My hands are sorer today. My muscles in my arms ache more. My feet are tired from 3 days of standing on concrete. All in all though I rarely notice any of it until the day is done. During class time I am busy. Busy forging knives, watching Jason forge, or visiting with other knifemakers. If you are a knife geek (or enthusiast if you prefer), then you will enjoy this class. I don't think it makes a difference where you rank in skill level. It is 8 hour days of living and breathing knives.

Today I got to witness Jason grind some more. There was also discussion and demonstration of heat treating.

Cost to benefit ratio: This class is very inexpensive compared to other knife classes that I have taken. You have to take into fact the quality of the instructor (excellent), the facilities, and that is a two week class. For me I have added expense of driving from Dallas, plus my food and lodging for 2 weeks. Still, this is an incredible opportunity for anyone that really wants to make knives, or make them better.

If I had a suggestion for improvement: it would be that the ABS do more to encourage the students to become actual members of the ABS. Perhaps charge a slightly lower rate if they join before the class starts (or even before it ended). I think that this would be a benefit to the student, and to the ABS. It would also be a benefit to the fellow students in the class as it would make future networking and camaraderie a more likely reality. I am really impressed with this organization and its members. I would love to see it grow even more. I would also enjoy it if this forum was about 100 times more active. More members may help with that. (Disclaimer: this is just my opinion as a very new member [I did pay gladly for the 5 year option]. It should be taken for what you feel it is worth).

Julious

I am also enjoying the comments and observations about the class through your eyes. Our ABS school programs and hammer-ins do a great job in furthering the American Bladesmith Society's mission of education.

One of the benefits for your fellow students in this class for joining the ABS now is that the wait time for eligibility to test for Journeyman Smith begins on the day that they join. In addition, because they are taking the 2 week Introduction to Bladesmithing Class at an ABS approved school the wait time is reduced by one year. So if they were to join the ABS now in May 2014 after completing the Introduction to Bladesmithing Class they would be eligible to present their knives to the JS Judging Panel at the June 2016 Blade Show in Atlanta.

Please tell the other students that they can join the ABS through our website www.americanbladesmith.com/ or they can call Cindy Sheely, ABS Office Manager, at 419-832-0400 and sign up over the telephone with a credit card.

Day 4.

My hands and body hurt less than previous days.

Forging went more smoothly

Forged (not ground or finished) 2 blades. A large bowie and a nessmuk skinner. The nessmuk skinner was at Bill Wiggins request. He helped me a great deal in understanding the steps necessary to forge this particular knife. Bill has only been out to the class a couple of times this week. In those couple of times he has offered many tips. I greatly appreciate him.

I am feeling much more confident in my forging abilities today, than yesterday. I think I have rough forged approximately 7 knives so far this week. 8 I think if you count the one I over heated when it was almost complete (it was my first one in the class). I think all the student have forged 5 or more. It is obvious to me that all of the students have improved greatly since the first day. It is also obvious to me that every one is having a great time.

Tomorrow is the last day that will be taught by Jason Knight. Next week will be Rodebaugh. I am looking forward to learning from Rodebaugh. I will however miss learning from Jason. He is a true character. I hope to have a life long friendship with him. I believe that I will.

I feel like I have made friends with the other student as well. This week has been a little bit of work. It has been a lot of fun. Tomorrow we will grind some on one of our forged blades. Grinding blades is not a new experience for me. I ground my first one more than 26 years ago. Grinding a forged blade is something that I have next to zero experience in. I am really looking forward to it.

Please let me know if you are still enjoying these posts. I am very new to this site. I don't want anyone to feel like I am over posting. I am a complete noob at forging knives. It is a honor to be a part of this organization. At a recent hammer in I got to meet many makers that I had only read about previously in magazines. They all treated me with respect. I tend to get very excited when talking about knives. Just tell to calm down, when I talk to much (or too loudly).

Julious your posts have been really helpful and I would hope that you keep publishing your adventure into forging. Sounds like a great class.

Julious,

Reading your account of the class brings it all back to me. I really enjoy it and please continue.

I think the blisters are a fitting parallel to your blade forging struggle, as it is with us all. It hurts and chafes at first but you will work through the pain and gain understanding. While you hands toughen your muscles gain memory. Immersing yourself in blade forging is the full purpose of the two week course. Think of it as "boot camp". It does indeed cram a year's worth of learning into that short time.

Be sure to ask everyone to gather for a photo and post it here.