Blacksmither Radio

Vince Nakovics is currently living in Shkoder, Albania, he and his wife moved there in 2012.  You will hear what the blacksmith scene is like there in the interview.  Prior to moving to Albania, he lived in Virginia Beach VA, which is where he began to blacksmith and eventually became the Tidewater Blacksmith’s Guild’s newsletter editor for 6 years.  With his renewed interest in writing he ended up publishing 65 monthly newsletters (during his time as editor), conducted over 100 interviews of blacksmiths and has written and published 5 books about blacksmiths, 2 of them are suspenseful fiction books.  In the interview you’ll hear that I was awaiting the arrival of one of his books, the Blacksmith Murders, I have since read the book and it’s a suspenseful, fast easy read, I recommend reading it, there’s not a lot of books out there that are about fictional characters that are blacksmiths! It’s a fun book. Before I get to the interview I wanted to tell you who the guest will be for the next Blacksmith’s Pub pod

Stuart Shirley is a college student at the Colorado School of Mines, he is obtaining a 4 year degree from the Colorado School of Mines in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering.  Currently, as part of pursuing his degree, he is completing an internship at the Center for Metal Arts in Florida New York.  What We Talked About Stuart’s interest in blacksmithing started in high school. His welding instructor offered to help Stuart build a forge of his own if Stuart agreed to build two forges, one for the school and one for him to keep. Stuart’s forge is called Great Owl Forge and he has both coal and gas forges there. He also has a treadle hammer (he built in high school), an anvil, horizontal bandsaw, oxy/acetylene set up and a utility pneumatic power hammer. While he has been working at the Center for Metal Arts as an intern, Stuart has become familiar with the 4 power hammers CMA has in the shop. They have a Ritter, Falcon, Anyang and a Nazel. Steel production and failure analysis is what interests Stuart the

This is the Blacksmith Buzz Bulletin.  Where you will get the low-down about upcoming current blacksmithing events happening around the world.  The bulletins are released once a month and will announce events happening in the following month.   If you have an event or class you would like to submit, send an email to info@blacksmither.com and I will send you the details I need for the press release.  

Welcome to episode #102 and I have David Robertson with us today, he’s a professional artist blacksmith from Ontario Canada, in fact, he’s been in business for 30 years as of this year… congratulations David!  We talk about how he kept busy when starting out as a full time blacksmith and his latest Art History in Iron course he taught at the Halliburton School of Art and Design. But first I’d like to thank our sponsor today and that’s the Southern Blacksmith Association, they are hosting their 18th bi-annual Conference.  The Philip Simmons Artist Blacksmith Guild is hosting this four-day conference at the Lion’s Club Fair Grounds in Madison, Georgia, it’s right around the corner on your calendars….Thursday through Sunday, May 18 - 21st, 2017. Their demonstrator lineup is outstanding! You can see Zeevik Gottlieb, Shelton Browder, Gordon Williams, and Michael Saari! Other conference events include Green Coal and Cold Coal classes, family programs, the Local Talent Forge, Iron in the Hat, forge and tool box raff

This is the BlacksmitHER Buzz Bulletin.  Where you will get the low-down about upcoming current blacksmithing events happening around the world.  The bulletins are released once a month and will announce events happening in the following month.   If you have an event or class you would like to submit, send an email to info@blacksmither.com and I will send you the details I need for the press release. Before we get to the bulletin I would like to mention in case you didn’t know, there is another blacksmith podcast out there that you can listen to, it’s called the Blacksmith’s Pub with Jesse Savage and Rick Barter having conversations about specific blacksmith topics and techniques and sometimes they have guests on the show too, you can listen to the show in iTunes, Stitcher and from their website www.theblacksmithspub.com.    

Yup, this is my 100th episode.  Bob Menard from the New England Blacksmiths just asked me the other day did you envision the 100th when you started?  The answer is NO Way! The reason I started this podcast 3 years ago was to help create a tighter knit blacksmith community around the world, to aid and encourage forging new connections by having casual conversations every week so we can learn a little something about our peers.  I thought I would talk about a few of the connections I’ve made over the past 3 years and about some of the connections that a few listeners have made by listening to the podcast.  Then I’ll jump right into another JayBurn Journal (an article written by Jay Burnham Kidwell) about different kinds of forging connections such as riveting, hot metal wrapping, mortise and tenon and such.   Summary: Hot Connections Forge Welding Arc Welding MIG Welding Tig Welding Oxy/acetelyne, oxy/propane gas welding Oxy/acetelyne, oxy/propane gas brazing and soldering Forge brazing Forge soldering Mortise

Julida Alter is the youngest of 6 in a strong Polish Catholic family where her father and two brothers are blacksmiths.  Julida and her sister are part of a 4-person band called “The Blacksmith’s Daughters”, they are located outside of Minneapolis Minnesota.  Recently formed in 2015, The Blacksmith's Daughters (a family folk/pop band) believe that music should inspire the best in each other. That is why they create music that makes people happy. Many times this happiness comes out through authentic love songs with soaring melodies, intense harmonies and intertwined guitar and ukulele.  What We Talked About Julida comes from a family of blacksmiths, 4 generations in fact! Her father, Boleslaw Kochanowski, is a well-known blacksmith in the Wisconsin and Chicago area. Her father has visited his native country, Poland, to research his genealogy and how it ties to the blacksmith craft. He has found business records from the early 1900’s of family members running a blacksmith business. Her grandfather was fighting

Welcome to episode number 98 with James Garvey.  He is an artist blacksmith just outside of New York City in Piermont NY.  His training includes 6 years at the Art Department of Colorado State University and 10 years as head of Blacksmithing at the Rochester Folk Art Guild.  He has designed and built public commissions in Manhattan including works at two subway stations, The School of Spirits Doors at the Dwight School in Manhattan, The Lariat Rustic Rail in Central Park, and a restoration project on the Statue of Liberty. But before we get into the interview I wanted to tell you guys about the Hammer making online class with Patrick Quinn.  It’s going to be an online course where Patrick is walking you through the steps of forging a 2.25lb straight peen hammer with a striker.  You will learn how to measure, punch and drift the hole, forge the cheeks, forge the peen and fuller around the face and peen. The majority of the work will be done with sledge- hammers and a striker; focus will be placed on proper str

It’s episode #97 and I’ve got another JayBurn Journal for you.  A technical article written by Jay Burnham-Kidwell. He’s a longtime blacksmith residing in Arizona, Since 1974, he has worked in various mediums and exhibited his work throughout the world.  He works as a studio artist, lecturer, and demonstrator in all kinds of metalsmithing including jewelry, copper hollow forms, and blacksmithing.  He’s written more than 40 technical articles for various magazines such as the Anvils Ring and Anvil Magazine.  So a JayBurn Journal titled “Punches, Drifts, Hammers and Top tools”.  Show Notes: To produce a tool of quality the smith should use tool or alloy steels. Tool steels can be bought new or as a drop or discontinued stock or as “road kill” recycled steel scraps. The average blacksmith shop has adequate resources to forge, normalize, anneal and heat treat many tool steels safely and most available tools steels can be forged and heat treated by using modified methods of the manufacturers recommended procedure

It’s episode number 96 and I have Caitlin Morris from Frederick, Maryland.  Let me introduce her by reading her “about” web page from her http://www.mscaitlinsschool.com/ . “Ms. Caitlin hangs out with the misfits and scallywags.  She sings loudly and out of tune.  She is partial to walks in the rain.  But the most important thing is this: Caitlin loves blacksmithing.  The Vermont native runs Ms. Caitlin’s School of Blacksmithing in Maryland, which is dedicated to sharing the craft with as many unsuspecting people as possible.  She also teaches at other schools up and down the east coast.“ We had a great interview discussing her background and some great info on scholarships, how she has secured a few and some tips on how you can.  What We Talked About Caitlin teaches blacksmithing at her own business “Miss Caitlin's School of Blacksmithing” and at other educational institutions along the East coast of the US. Caitlin opened her school of blacksmithing in Frederick Maryland in 2015. Her blacksmith background

Hola Muchacho’s, It’s episode #95 and I have Rachel David on the show to talk about an upcoming all forged metal show she and Zach Lihatsh are hosting in New Orleans.   Rachel is a blacksmith and artist living and working in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Her business is called Red Metal Designs.  And Zach is an artist blacksmith living in Arizona, he’s a graduate and instructor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.  They will be hosting a very special art show containing juried forged art pieces that have been submitted by all of you, the blacksmith community.  The art show is called “Nu Iron Age” and will be held in conjunction with the SNAG (Society of North American Goldsmiths) convention, May 24th – 27th.  The details of the call for entry will be in the show notes for this episode on Blacksmither.com as well as the link to the website, called CAFÉ, in case you want to submit a piece.  If you are unfamiliar with the CAFÉ system, you must register an account (a free account) to submit applications for the

Hey there, it’s Vic, welcome to the show and thank you for tuning in this week, you guys! It’s episode #94 and this year I’ve decided to read some technical articles written by Jay Burnham-Kidwell. A resident of Arizona, Jay is the owner of Metal Design and Restoration.  Since 1974, he has worked in various mediums and exhibited his work throughout the world.  He works as a studio artist, lecturer, and demonstrator in all kinds of metalsmithing including jewelry, copper hollow forms, and blacksmithing.  I met Jay at the ABANA conference last summer in Salt Lake City Utah and we hit it off right away as if we’d known each other for a long time, I think that’s how Jay is with everyone.  He mentioned he had more than 40 articles that he had written for various magazines such as the Anvils Ring and Anvil Magazine, and he would be happy to share them with me so I could share them with you on the podcast.  I’m going to call these technical podcasts “The JayBurn Journals” and I’ll sprinkle them throughout the year.

Today is episode #93 and I have Brian Brazeal who has been blacksmithing for over 36 years and has dedicated most of his career to teaching the craft here in the US and around the world.  Soon he will be going to Africa with his brother Ed to start a blacksmith program at a school in Kenya, he talks all about this in the interview.  Now I’d like to thank our sponsor for today’s episode, ABANA. The Artist Blacksmith Association of North America, AKA ABANA is a non-profit organization that began in 1973 to perpetuate the noble art of blacksmithing.  ABANA encourages and facilitates the training of blacksmiths and exposes the art of blacksmithing to the public.  Head on over to the website, www.abana.org , where you can learn about their membership benefits and sign up to be added to their mailing list, which is the best way to learn about affiliate and regional events and other blacksmithing announcements.  Thank you ABANA! What We Talked About Brian’s introduction to blacksmithing was through becoming a farri

Lee began blacksmithing in 1973 at the age of 12, when he began his apprenticeship to Larry Mann. He has been a member of the Artist-Blacksmiths Association of North America since 1974.  He is best known in the blacksmith community for his research and knowledge of smelting or bloomery.  He takes rocks that contain iron ore and melts them into a bloom of iron, then he forges the bloom into sculptures.  In the episode, he talks about the qualities and benefits of working with bloom iron, and how it forge welds like a dream!  He has been an ABANA member since 1974 and he reminisces about the early conferences in those days in our interview, this brings me to our sponsor for today’s episode, ABANA. The Artist Blacksmith Association of North America, AKA ABANA is a non-profit organization that began in 1973 to perpetuate the noble art of blacksmithing.  ABANA encourages and facilitates the training of blacksmiths and exposes the art of blacksmithing to the public.  Head on over to the website, www.abana.org , whe

Today is episode # 91 and we’re catchin up with Toby Druce again for the third time in his 15 week artist blacksmith program at Fleming college.  If you recall, Toby Druce made a mid-life career change to become a blacksmith.  He is from the Toronto area in Ontario Canada and has been a social worker with the City of Toronto for the past 29 years.  He decided to change career paths and learn to become a blacksmith by attending the Fleming College Blacksmith Program.   What We Talked About We talk about his final project and how far along he is with it, the design changed from his earlier thoughts of incorporating a compass rose. Last time we spoke Toby successfully completed his first forge weld so I asked to see how this technique is going for him. There were 15 students in the class with an age range from 17 to 57 years old and one has left the program. Along with the final project, each student will also have to show 8 different completed projects. Toby tells us everything that he has made so far, a garde

Today is episode #90 and I have invited Daniel Miller back again to continue the discussion of his artistic approaches and creativity with forging.  Daniel Miller is a very talented blacksmith from Waynesville North Carolina and today he will read another article he wrote and published in the Anvils Ring, the winter issue of 2009.  This article is titled “Sweet Mary and Her Sons in Her Seas.” Daniel grew up in North Carolina and has been working in the world of metal for more than thirty years. He is one of the most respected members of his craft, and well known among the smithing community. His work has appeared at the American Craft Museum in NY, and in gallery exhibitions around the world. We Talked About: How Daniel refines the design of a piece; does he usually draw versions of it first?   Regarding the 4 legs of the table, we talk through the process of making the feet and ankles (they are my favorite part).  It looks like he split and drifted the area of the core of the body where two bands come th

Welcome, come on in, grab your favorite beverage of choice and hunker down in a comfy seat because today I have a bit of a different interview for you…..yes it may be a little deep regarding artistic approaches and creativity with forging.  I have invited Daniel Miller from Waynesville North Carolina to read an article he wrote and published in the Anvils Ring back in 2002.  When I first read, the article titled “The Least of These” I was emotionally moved and connected to it on so many levels and I just had to talk to Daniel about reading it for us and to further discuss his approach to forging. I hope you enjoy it, I plan to have him read some more of his articles about a few of his forging projects. A re-write, done in September of 2016, of the article Daniel Miller wrote for the Spring 2002 edition of the “Anvil’s Ring”. “The Least of These” : One smith’s wonderings and wanderings about why and for whom he keeps doing this work. By Daniel Miller  “We have taken a great social movement and turned it into a

Denise Axelsen is an award-winning blacksmith.  Educated in England, she now enjoys living in Newry, Victoria Australia.  With over a decade of experience forging metal, Denise makes small functional and custom pieces as well as stunning sculptural works.  What We Talked About Denise went to university in the UK for three-dimensional design after a 25-year career as a nurse. In her second year at university, she took a forging class, was very drawn to the craft and decided that was what she wanted to do. It took her another five years to convince the Rural Development Commission to let her in on the New Entrants Training Scheme in pure forge work. After taking a few courses at the Hereford School of art with Adrian Legge, taking as many BABA workshops as possible and giving up her nursing career she finally qualified into the Scheme in 2003.  The Training Scheme was a UK government funded scheme aimed at 16 to 25-year old’s to become apprentice blacksmiths for 12 weeks over a course of 2 years.   Denise mo

Matt started forging when he was 16 years old and has been blacksmithing for 10 years, perfecting his craft by completing several local and international master classes and earning a certificate in Engineering Fabrication in Blacksmithing at a technical school called TAFE in Australia.  Matt is an attentive and passionate teacher who is dedicated to sharing his knowledge about blacksmithing to the community from the historic Eveleigh locomotive workshop.  Apart from being an instructor, Matt also creates architectural ironwork for clients, and is a passionate tool-maker, with his axes being highly sought after. Matt's secret talent is that he's pretty deft on the banjo and one day wants to do the motorcycle trip from the Easy Rider movie, minus the horrible ending!   What We Talked About Matthew has partnered up with two other people to grow the blacksmithing craft in Sydney, Australia by taking over the lease of the historic Eveleigh Locomotive workshop starting in September of 2016. They are offering tool

Toby Druce is making a mid-life career change to become a blacksmith.  He is from the Toronto area in Ontario Canada and has been a social worker with the City of Toronto for the past 29 years.  He has decided to change career paths and learn to become a blacksmith by attending the Fleming College Blacksmith Program over the next 15 weeks. Toby and l are doing a 4-part podcast series and this is the 2nd interview, Toby is now 5 weeks into his program. What We Talked About With five weeks into his blacksmith program, he has obtained an A+ in Drawing and forged some tools; a hot chisel, hardy hot cut, punch, drift, and center punch. He just successfully completed his first forge weld a few days ago for a pair of tongs. There are 15 students in the class with an age range from 17 to 57 years old. Each student has to come up with a design of a final project and forge it by the end of the program, Toby’s is going to be a table and table top and it will be his rendition of a compass rose. Along with the final proj