On Monday we lit the forge at the smithy, for it was "Kindergeburtstag", a children´s birthday party scheduled at the Bethaus, Volker´s place.
I was there early and had a nice chat with Volker.
We set up the material. We always insist on the kids wearing proper safety gear. They work a lot closer to the anvil´s surface, and there´s a high risk involved, so safety glasses are a must, as are fire-resistant gloves and an apron.
Anvils set up, and ready for mission!
We forged a wide variety of projects, from mini horseshoes to little Celtic knives to snake pendants, hearts and letters.
The kids waiting in row.
...and apparently enjoying themselves!
A miniature knife we handed to the adults, made from mild steel with a work-hardened edge. They carve actually. I am not so enthusiastic about the steel choice, but you have to do it quick, so spring steel´s not an option.
And the kids enjoy them nonetheless! Oh, and the plaster´s not our fault*ggg* in case you ask*ggg*, not this time!*ggg*
A big hit with the kids were those snake pendants with a knot in the tail-a Druidic good luck charm amulet actually!
Having a good-bye chat. The adults were quite enthused about our work and gave a healthy tip on top of the price. Thanks for that, you´re welcome!
Oh, and that´s my favourite necklace these days;-). A striker Thor´s hammer pendant, a Thor´s hammer pendant, and my personal snake knot pendant I made as a practice.
This is another example of my lack of patience. Fitted the scales raw to file down to tang size when mounted. Hacksawed the remaining scale...
This is a part of my collection of pocket knives. (Top to bottom: Otter "Notschlachter", 1.4110 100 mm blade, á virole lockback...
In my relatively...ummmm...vast? . ;-) collection one can find among many others these two knives. For the one below I can safely state t...
On a recent flea market round my place I found this little very interesting folding knife. It is a Turkish grape knife. The bla...
On a recent hike I came across a really nice specimen of chicken of the woods (laetiporous sulphurea, in German: Schwefelporling), grown on ...
On the flea market in Schwelm, where I worked as a member of the organisation team, I found this treasure; a real tribal dagger, which I ...
Long time, no post;-)... on 4th of May, however, there was an event that would qualify as a highlight of the year. The Knifemaking expo at...
It´s been a while, but I finally managed to get to the traditional hammer-in at the museum smithy to meet with Willi and Daniel, and we ha...
Nick and Kathrin had called the other day if I´d wanted to come along visiting the nature art EN expo in the Hülsenbecker valley with t...