October 11-17
October 11, 2026
Taylor was back on the forge this morning to forge hinges for an antique cabinet! This is definitely a Guinea Pig Club project! The goal is to make 4 sets, but first we had to replicate the original hinge. He did great learning a whole new set of skills! We got one set done that he will test and then be back to tweak anything and make 3 more!
October 14, 2026
Combat Ready Art on the road today! I had the privilege of being invited to speak at the senior living community StoryPoint Kalamazoo at Bronson Place, as part of their Lunch & Learn program. Fun time talking to them about what we do in the forge, and teaching them about the different processes of blacksmithing, bladesmithing, welding, and plasma cutting. And of course we had a "show and tell" with swords, knives, steel flowers, hooks, snakes, and more!
Thank you for inviting me! It was a lot of fun meeting everyone!
October 14, 2026
Logan and his brother were back in the forge again! They've done a couple of classes already, so today they started the Billet Knives. You can really see the skills they've learn in the previous projects.
October 14, 2026
It's been a minute, but Jeff is finally back in the forge! And he's going all in by trying to make copper mai, but with brass. Its a total experiment, but he's ready for it.
October 15, 2026
Level 2 homeschoolers were inbtje forge this morning. Parker missed last month, so he started his billet knife. He got everything done and the handle is glued and pinned on. Next time he will finish it and start damascus. Because Henry finished his billet knife last month, he worked on his first damascus. Great progress made! He got the first 7 layers forged welded, cut and folded to make 14 layers, and started shaping the blade.
October 15, 2026
Fun father and son in the forge today! They both made great Rustic style Railroad Spike Knives.
October 15, 2026
Matt and Tye continued working on their damascus today. Good progress today! They both did the final fold to make 80 layers, and started shaping the blades.
October 16, 2026
I got to spend the morning with Kristie's mom! Usually Margie comes with Lucy and Kristi, but today she got to have fire to herself. Really fun class with her. She made a paring knife and silverware rings.
October 16, 2026
Dan was back in the forge today. He is starting a damascus billet. What he's going to make with it is yet to be determined. He has many ideas!
October 17, 2026
So, I can't show what Lucy and Kristi were working on today. We've entered that time of year when my regulars start making holiday gifts. I can show them working really hard, and making amazing things, but I can't actually show the final product. But stay tuned! December 26 will be a fun post!
