Blade finished! A collaborative effort...not just Joe Keeslar influence although that is the style I so dearly love.
Greg Neely's session on forging a blade took me beyond what I was previously doing. I was always too tentative in taking my blade edge too thin with hammers. Greg convinced me to take it to the diameter of a nickle...not over heating, forming the point, distal taper, and plunge area with my hammers. 90 % of the blade was formed with forging rather than forging & stock removal as I did in the past.
Burt Foster showed me how to grind the blade and get my plunge lines clean and even. My previous attempts on a long blade were pretty unimpressive to say the least!
Jim Batson took away the myth of heat treating for me. Anytime I tried to quench a thin grind, I'd always come up with a warp on the edge.
What else can I say about the generosity of Joe Keeslar. Showing me his entire forging procedure on the Brut de Forge, a session on handles and guards (I now have his book all autographed too!), and his technique on making leather sheaths (which I used to dread).
This is my first GSMBS blade and I couldn't be happier...handle material still contemplating. If anyone is thinking or on the fence about going to a big hammer-in, Don't give it a second thought just GO!!! I talked to Doug Campbell several times when I was there as he had been pushing me to do one of these. He said my smile came through the cell phone.
For anyone in the Northeast, there is another ABS Blade Symposium July 16-18th at the New England School of Metalworks in Auburn, Maine. If you want to attend give me a hollar as I have a cottage on a Maine lake about 1 1/2 hours from there. I might just go again as I'd like to see Don Fogg's session on damascus. He is a Nor'east ABS legend. tippit
http://newenglandschoolofmetalwork.com/NESM%20ABS%20HammerIN.pdf 
Topic: Born Again Bladesmith (Read 1652 times)
