[TheForge] living history demo

[bmyers647 at comcast.net]

I like to let them know that about the plasticity of the hot iron.  Usually, I make hooks as that is all the longer the attention span is for most of the viewing public.

I also tell jokes.  The best one for school kids is the school marm joke in Randy McDaniel's book.  It is good for any of the public.  I like the one about the blacksmith's dog who is also a blacksmith.  One day he dropped a piece of hot iron on the dog's back.  The dog made a bolt for the door...

They like to know how hot the fire is, how hot the iron is.  Tell them how you tell when you can work the metal by the color.  Explain aboriginal metalurgy - the blacksmith knew what to do, but knew not what was happening.  He knew at what color to quench to get max hardness, what worked with tempering.  Show them how to harden and temper a punch in one heat.

Enjoy yourself and the kids will enjoy it too - and maybe learn something.