[TheForge] Pennsic survived ;-)

[Bruce Freeman]

Phlip,
That "staple" you described does sound like a "dog" used to hold logs
together, as for sawing or adzing.  Don't know why it would be among
cooking equipment, unless holding logs together somehow could aid
cooking.   But I'd think a broken trivet would look different from a
dog.  The break should leave a trace.
Bruce
NJ

On Sun, Aug 17, 2008 at 2:42 PM, Saint Phlip <phlip at 99main.com> wrote:
> So, I'm back from Pennsic. Usually takes me about a week to recover
> sufficiently to converse coherently. Had some right interesting
> doings, that I'll share with you ;-)
>
> First, my student, Ben. Last year, he had never been on a forge at
> all. In the intervening year, he has acquired equipment, and started
> playing, and he's doing quite well. I'm very pleased- I think any of
> you would be proud to have him for a student. I'm really looking
> forward to seeing the trellis he's making as a gift for some friends
> who are getting married. As soon as I get pictures, I'll share them
> ;-)
>
> One of the things we've been doing every Pennsic, is having a cook-in,
> basicly experimenting with period style pottery, cooking period-style
> foods over an open fire. I'll send you guys a URL as soon as I get
> one- I think you'll be interested ;-) One of the participants is a
> professor of archaeology, who recently went on a dig over in Russia.
> While there, he acquired a book, in Russian, showing a number of
> artifacts they'd found, and we spent a fair amount of time looking
> them over and discussing them- I was able to tell him what several
> items were in reality, as opposed to what academics ignorant of
> practical matters had chosen to identify them as- always amusing ;-) I
> now have a copy of these pages- only the 3rd or 4th copy in the US ;-)
>
> But, as we cook, I usually have someone working on my forge. In this
> case, Ben was making the professor a trivet, to use under a particular
> pot that he wanted to cook out of. The trivet was the simple "V" type,
> with a leg at the bend, and legs at the ends of the bars.
>
> When he saw it, the prof got very excited. It seems that there is a
> whole slew of metal artifacts out there, that had been tentatively
> identified as some sort of staple, to hold wood together, although
> there was some question as to why they tended to be found amongst
> cooking gear. As it happens, with this trivet, if it were to break at
> the point of the V, it would produce two "staples" exactly like the
> ones that there had been the many discussions about. It seems we're
> making history, one trivet at a time ;-)
>
> And, aside from the tremendous fun that I have at Pennsic, I, too, had
> what I feel is a great personal triumph ;-) As some of you know, I
> have a strong interest in disabled folks, it being my belief that
> able-bodied people too often sell them short, in terms of what we
> believe they can do. I had always been willing to teach anyone to
> smith, having met crippled smiths, deaf smiths, one VERY fine smith
> who only had one arm to use, etc, but in all my thinking, I had not
> been able to figure out how to teach a blind person to smith- I mean,
> really, Braille and Red Hot (or even black hot) metal do not seem to
> go together safely.
>
> So, this Pennsic, I met a blind gentleman, who was motivated to learn-
> and I managed to teach him, with the help of some very good students I
> had the privilege of working with. Not only did he learn and help my
> other students in cutting off lengths from my bar stock, but he was
> able to learn how to place the metal in the heart of the (charcoal)
> fire, draw a point, and bend a circle, in order to make himself a
> simple portable hole. Yes, he did all the hammering himself.
>
> Now, I don't think he'll ever be able to smith safely and artisticly
> without a sighted person to help him adjust angles and the like, but
> I'm pretty sure that, with a few more lessons, he will be able to
> teach a sighted, but smithing-ignorant person to assist him. I'm very
> proud of him ;-)
>
> So, guys, how was YOUR summer?
>
> --
> Saint Phlip
>
> Heat it up
> Hit it hard
> Repent as necessary.
>
> Priorities:
>
> It's the smith who makes the tools, not the tools which make the smith.
>
> .I never wanted to see anybody die, but there are a few obituary
> notices I have read with pleasure. -Clarence Darrow
> _______________________________________________
> Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> theforge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoaccess.com
> Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
> password:  anvil
> ___________
>
>
>



-- 
Bruce
NJ