Alan Longmire Posted October 10, 2022 Author Share Posted October 10, 2022 (edited) 14 hours ago, Matt Walker said: Lots of photos coming and even video of the cutting contest soon! He gave me a 32 Gb sd card yesterday. I'll start a new thread for photos, unless y'all want me to keep them here. Edited October 10, 2022 by Alan Longmire spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerald Boggs Posted October 11, 2022 Share Posted October 11, 2022 On 10/9/2022 at 7:45 PM, Brian Dougherty said: Well, I made it home. It isn't as easy as it once was, I had to get off 81 a couple of times and use route 11, traffic kept doing the accordion thing. <p>Gerald Boggs <a href="http://www.geraldboggs.com">www.geraldboggs.com</a></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Dougherty Posted October 11, 2022 Share Posted October 11, 2022 37 minutes ago, Gerald Boggs said: I had to get off 81 a couple of times and use route 11, traffic kept doing the accordion thing. Glad you made it back! -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary LT Posted October 11, 2022 Share Posted October 11, 2022 Thank you Alan and everyone involved in getting this event “re-started”! I am so glad I made the trip, (even though I had to alter it due to work commitments). Next year….. helck yeah!! Seeing someone do something you need to learn more about, “trumps” reading about the same thing. I learned a lot. I also enjoyed meeting all you folks in person! Overall …… wife and I had a great weekend! Gary LT 1 "I Never Met A Knife I Didn't Like", (Will Rogers) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerald Boggs Posted October 11, 2022 Share Posted October 11, 2022 This hammer-in, while small was pretty damn good. How often do you get to watch four different ABS Mastersmiths and a bunch of other talented smiths demonstrate and explain how and why they do what they do. We got to watch blade forging, handle shaping, Hamon, and blade grinding all in one day :-) Big kudos to Alan and all the other members of the State of Franklin Blacksmith Guild for putting this together 4 1 <p>Gerald Boggs <a href="http://www.geraldboggs.com">www.geraldboggs.com</a></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Adams Posted October 11, 2022 Share Posted October 11, 2022 Glad everything went great. Wish I could have been there. I hope to be next year. I was able to attend the last two at Bowies and really enjoyed those. Do you have any idea when you will have a date for next year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted October 11, 2022 Author Share Posted October 11, 2022 Thanks, all! Gary, it was great to meet you in person, along with Brian, Aiden, and a few other forum folk. Gerald, thank you for coming and for the excellent demo despite a recalcitrant forge! Doug and all, we are going to try to get a date for next year in the next month or two. We all agree it would be better not to have it on the same weekend as the Apple Festival and the Storytelling festival, not because they clogged up the event, but because nobody could get a hotel if they waited until August to try. We also want to try for a couple of weeks earlier. I liked the cool weather, but I was overruled in favor of more after-hours face time. Most people never noticed there's a hidden pavilion in the woods by the pond. It's open on all sides, but has a chalet fireplace and would make a most excellent lounge area for late-night discussions. So: it WILL happen again next year. Probably late September-ish. I need to coordinate with Mark Z to get the dates of all the other bladesmith-related stuff around the country, because we also coincided with Blade West this time, and nearly didn't have Jason because of it. We will also install a few 220V outlets so we don't have to rent the Generator of Doom that Kurt and Bobby had to babysit and which Burt and Wiggins had to yell over. Kurt is thinking of making a large circus tent (he used to work in a sail loft and is used to large canvas) that would have better coverage than that 10 x 20 shelter. We can get a second set of bleachers if needed, also. We may have a slightly more realistic schedule, but the spirit of gentle chaos really did capture the authentic Bowie's experience. Saturday will be pretty solid, since that's when the professionals perform, and they need to know when to be there. The authentic Bowie's experience does, however, need slightly warmer nights, as sitting around a fire sampling from those jars marked "Not Water" is traditional. I wasn't able to spend as much time at the venue as I'd have liked due to family related events. That said, I still haven't fully recovered from the weekend, in a good way! I am very much an introvert, and need several hours of silent downtime for every hour of social interaction, but by golly when I'm on stage I don't hold back, as those of you who were there can attest. While we're on the subject, though, what would you like to see next year? We've already thought about getting a sheath maker. Let's hear some ideas! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles dP Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 Right; you all suck . Seriously though, it looks like it was an awesome event. I will have to look at trying to get over for one of these if I get a chance. 1 "The way we win matters" (Ender Wiggins) Orson Scott Card Nos, qui libertate donati sumus, nes cimus quid constet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Walker Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 On 10/11/2022 at 3:07 PM, Alan Longmire said: While we're on the subject, though, what would you like to see next year? We've already thought about getting a sheath maker. Let's hear some ideas! The leadership of our forge group is asking for feedback. If you have thoughts about making this event better Alan and I can pass them along. Or you may email our president Kurt, kurt.krieger63@gmail.com directly. Even if you couldn't make it this time we would like to know what you want to see next year. Feedback on the basic format would be helpful. Matt Walker https://www.youtube.com/@onedamascusmaker/videos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Dougherty Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 (edited) Matt, One thought came to mind. Several of the presenters mentioned how they could only go about an hour before their voice gave out. Additionally, it was sort of "Theater in the round" so the presenter frequently had their back to part of the audience making it difficult to hear. It would be pretty easy to scrounge up a wireless lapel microphone, and a PA system. I frequently present to a ~100 person audience in a large room at work. While I like to think I can effectively project to the back of the room, it always goes better when I just wear the microphone. Edited October 14, 2022 by Brian Dougherty -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary LT Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 @Alan Longmire, Everything you mentioned to adjust for next year is perfect. If possible have the demos better planned in the day schedule and keep the chatter until after the demo or before, little distracting. Having experienced this one, I’ll be really looking forward to next year (and I won’t be so timid!) I did get to meet everyone I wanted to and more. Most important, wife enjoyed it a lot! Hell, I am ready to book a room now! Gary LT 1 "I Never Met A Knife I Didn't Like", (Will Rogers) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary LT Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 Whoops….forgot to ask Alan, (and probably most important), did the event produce the money it had hoped for? Gary LT "I Never Met A Knife I Didn't Like", (Will Rogers) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Walker Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 Excellent guys, just what we are looking for. Matt Walker https://www.youtube.com/@onedamascusmaker/videos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted October 14, 2022 Author Share Posted October 14, 2022 Yes, thanks! We thought about a sound system, and it would have been good with that $#@!! generator. I bet Kurt can scrounge one. We will get better on the scheduling, but part of the point is to keep it relaxed. It's also difficult to get a pile of bladesmiths all moving in the same direction at the same time! I will try to keep it moving better, we did run way over on a few demos. I think much of that was that this was the first hammer-in to get a lot of these guys together since pre-Covid days, some of us since the last actual Bowie's event in 2014. There was a lot of catching up to do, in other words. And we did manage a slight net gain, thanks! This being the first year we would have been happy to break even, so we're delighted to have made a little extra. Since we're a nonprofit I can't use the word profit to describe it, so net gain it is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary LT Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 Net gain sounds good to me! Gary LT "I Never Met A Knife I Didn't Like", (Will Rogers) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles dP Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 15 hours ago, Alan Longmire said: It's also difficult to get a pile of bladesmiths all moving in the same direction at the same time! 3 "The way we win matters" (Ender Wiggins) Orson Scott Card Nos, qui libertate donati sumus, nes cimus quid constet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Stuart Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 It was an excellent event--you all nailed it! Next time I'll hope to be able to stay longer. I'd love to see smelting and/or hearth refining on the schedule, or even possibly something related to crucible steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Thomas Posted October 23, 2022 Share Posted October 23, 2022 Looks like a grand time was had by all! I am sad I missed the first one. Turns out though I was having the last full weekend with my faithful daily companion, my aging dog Billy Goat, who had a terminal illness so I am thankful I was here for him. Next year! 2 1 Guy Thomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles dP Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 Sorry for your loss Guy 1 "The way we win matters" (Ender Wiggins) Orson Scott Card Nos, qui libertate donati sumus, nes cimus quid constet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted October 24, 2022 Author Share Posted October 24, 2022 59 minutes ago, Charles dP said: Sorry for your loss Guy Indeed. You did the right thing, though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Price Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 Sorry I missed it too, but I was in Italy enjoying the antiquities, ironwork everywhere, and most excellent dining. Hopefully next year, I don't have international travel lined up again any time soon. 1 The Tidewater Forge Christopher Price, Bladesmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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