You my dedicated readers might have noticed it was a bit silent the last two weeks, and that had a reason, two, in fact. We had to work on the Chrismas fairs in Velbert-Langenberg and Schwelm. In Langenberg the weather was all crap, but the market was situated at a great place and there were lots of friendly people around and we made a lot of connections. It was raining hard the whole time, and the snow was melting, making for a gooey mess. On Sunday, we had to try five times to even start a decent fire!
The smithy was built on a patch of grass, not quite the favourite, but we got it working. Volker moved his anvil around for about an hour, which resulted in a swamphole;-) and slippery it was.
That´s an ugly fire, but all was wet through. We had an early start, and took it easy, sipping a coffee after the fire was going and having a chat.
There were no visitors that early, but the site was located in a park near an old villa, which is used as a school these days.
Preparing for battle...;-)
After several futile attempts at getting a decent fire going with wet wood and wet tinder I simply stole some embers.
Et voilá les enfants:;-)
In spite of the weather the kids kept coming steadily. And in spite of the weather, we all had fun and made do.
...
The site was beautiful, but the weather was so foul it became a total mess.
It´s funny, but we could not complain about a lack of kids and customers. Having a smithy seems to attract people even under the worst circumstances.
I made these little viking knives. I had the order to make them from mild steel. So I coldforged the edge and made it work. They can even cut a bit and take and keep something similar to an edge. I was fond of this one we made...
...like this heart...
...together with this happy family. They really enjoyed themselves.
The medical rescue squad was present, too, and they (adults and kids alike) had a lot of fun working with fire and steel.
...and memories were conserved.
Volker forging a heart of steel.
When the day drew to a close, the steady drizzle of visitors slowly faded, and I made this leaf handled design knife. We packed our things and drove home.
In
Schwelm, we actually were so busy I was not able to make any photos, but my boss did. Here they come:
The place was thrumming with visitors, and the fair was beautifully built with colourful huts and a load of interesting booths with good food.
We were working both days without so much of a looking up. Craig dropped by with his family and I gave him the Sgian Dhú I made for him, with an extra belt sheath. He seemed to like it;-). Then Nick and his girlfriend came along and I made him a tool for carving and opening walnuts, out of spring steel. I will make another, I guess, and keep you posted! Jürgen from Clan macLaren came by, too, and we had a chat,
I like this photo, for it well transports the spirit and the magic of blacksmithing with children.
Here is an article about the fair.
It was a very busy weekend, and I was so exhausted I slept through the next day and the night, and awoke with back aches. But it was also a great experience to boot! The back aches have subsided, but the memory will stay.
