[TheForge] Blacksmithing education

[nicknaylo at aol.com]

All these excellent references sort of ignore the personality, age, 
resources,
and inclinations of the young guy in question.
Some of us don't enjoy a formal scholastic environment. Some of us do 
better
given direct immersion opportunities. Some of us need much less support 
and
would thrive with occasional guidance and exposure to the possibilities.
Perhaps the best thing might be to deliver his young butt and a 
sleeping bag to
one of the larger BS conferences, and let him get his hands dirty, 
first off.

I thought I saw a lot of these youngsters at the last BS conference I 
attended. Not the most well spoken or
informed individuals, but thriving in a hands on experience of a half 
dozen forges and 3 times that number of
accomplished smiths. There's more than one way to edumacate people

Michael S