Dave Stephens

Glad you enjoyed it, Josh. Yes, Morris is an invisible hand that greatly impacts our craft, in my opinion. He was central in first championing the dignity and worth of hand made objects (and those who made them). If I had to pick an impossible utopian world to live in, it would be his novel "News from Nowhere," which depicts a world in which there is but one rule: You have to make something (grow it, build it, etc.) and then give it away. It wouldn't work, of course. But it's a lovely vision. Thanks for listening! Dave

Episode 7 is live. This one might interest you guys. It features the wisdom of Don Fogg, swords, beheadings, and discussion of the father of the craftsmanship movement in the West, William Morris. The poem is called, "The Haystack in the Floods," and it's a 19th century rendition of scene from the late Medieval during the 100 years war between France and England. Enjoy! https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/episodes/1679107-episode-7-the-haystack-in-the-floods-by-william-morris

Very nice! Love the shape. Impressive work!

Pinned for fear this might slip beneath the first page and therefore easy reference.

Thanks Josh! Episode 6, for those who might be interested, is Hemingway's short story: "A Clean Well-Lighted Place," and is themed around the contemplation of death (or at least non-existence). https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/episodes/1470508-episode-6-a-clean-well-lighted-place-by-earnest-hemingway

Thanks Bryan! If you haven't already done so, check out this interview I did with Don back in 2013.

Thanks Charles!

Episode #5 is now live. Cheers! Dave https://www.buzzsprout.com/335183/1398409-episode-5-terence-this-is-stupid-stuff-by-ae-housman

Thanks Josh! Glad you enjoyed it.

All: We were going through some old footage from AF 2012 and found a raw, unedited interview with Don. There are some parts that should be edited (some zooms, pans, some times where I'm asking him questions with no microphone) but it's still amazing. Don is a great speaker, and so eloquent on the philosophy of the craft. Here it is, no edits, just the raw footage but I think it's still pretty amazing. Enjoy! Dave https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6X22DSdnzE

I do have a long list, but I'd be happy to take suggestions, Joel. I do have to be cognizant of copyright, however, so old stuff is fine (anything older that 1919 is generally non-copyright). I can do selections of copyrighted works under fair use doctrine, but would need permission to recite the whole work. Episode 3 will be released in a couple of days. I'm reading a short story by John Steinbeck in this one. Thanks! Dave

Very cool! What's the steel mix? Any wisdom to impart on thickness/sharpness of the cutter used to "smear" the feather? Have you noticed that different cutter shapes produce different feather angles/lengths? Dave

Thanks Pieter!

Hello All: For me, the link between Literature and bladesmithing is not something I can sever. Many of you might not know that I was once an English professor teaching Literature to college students. It's been nearly 20 years since I left the University to become a capitalist heretic, but I miss teaching. So, I've started a podcast about poetry and literature. I thought I'd share it with my brothers in this craft, because I know enough about the type of people who are drawn to this work to know that you're all warrior poets at heart. The first two episodes are up. My goal is to produce one a week. You can subscribe on Itunes, the podcast app on your phone, Stitcher, Alexa, Spotify, most of the podcast services. Just search for "Belletrist." Anyway, below is a link to the podcast. Hope you enjoy it. If you do, I'd appreciate it if you'd drop it a rating, subscribe, etc. Like this forum, I'm not doing this to make money. No advertising or anything. Just a labor of love. Cheers! Dave http://www.BelletristPodcast.com

I love it! Thanks for sharing it, Jim! The collars in front of the bolster are a nice touch. The feather is just awesome. The wood grain of the end of a log on the top of the bolster is a great touch, too. Tell Don he's missed! Dave