[TheForge] Pennsic survived ;-)

[Saint Phlip]

Trouble is, "dogs" tend to have longer tines on them- the ones we put
on the trivet were only about an inch long.. And, when they find them,
they're so rusty that a break would most likely be invisible. As it
was, when I told him to look to see of the pieces were a bit
sway-backed (deliberately done by us for more stability for a roundish
bottomed pot) he said he'd have trouble even determining that.

On Sun, Aug 17, 2008 at 7:42 PM, Bruce Freeman <freemab222 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 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
> _______________________________________________
> 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
> ___________
>
>
>



-- 
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