Week of June 1-7
6/1/25
Scott was back this morning! He's working on feather damascus. So far, its been fairly easy damascus. Today was the 1st of 2 strange processes. We cut his damascus billet into 7 pieces, stacked them up, and forge welded them...mostly. Not surpringly, a giant tower of steel likes to putting a bit of a fight. But next time, we do the hardest part-the cut down the middle of the billet.
6/1/25
Fun afternoon with these 2! Crystal made 3 cutlery critters and 2 rings, while her husband forged a beautiful cleaver in 3 hours! He has now tied the record for fastest billet knife made by a student!
6/3/25
It was a great day with Mandi and her father! They've both been in before. Today they made Billet Knives! Both of the knives are beautiful and crazy sharp! Even more importantly, it was a great time spent together!
6/4/25
Daren was in the forge this afternoon for his first blacksmithing class! He forged a beautiful Railroad Spike Knife, with a rustic texture and a crater twist handle. Really nice work!
6/4/25
These two were so much fun tonight! Tim and Lexy came to the forge to make Railroad Spike Knives...and quickly turned into a competition to see who's knife was more dangerous looking!
6/5/25
Well this is a fun accidental find! I've known there's a long tradition of blacksmiths in the city of Kalamazoo. Jon alone had been a blacksmith here for decades. This is the 15 year for Combat Ready Art. Before us, there was Smart Shop, owned by Holly Fisher. I just happened to come across this article from Kalamazoo Public Library, written last year. So awesome to find out more of the history, and be apart of that legacy, coal forge and all. And how cool is it that we are less than a block away from where the Bos shop was!
6/5/25
Jackson was back this afternoon to continue working on a commissioned knife. He just has to finish up the handle next time.
6/5/25
Vince was back last night. Last time he brought one of his daughters. Tonight it was the other one's turn! Vince is starting his first damascus, so it was all fluxing and hammering for him. His daughter forged her first knife. She did a fantastic job! Super sharp and so shiny you can definitely see it from space!
6/6/25
What a fun afternoon with this family! They're trying to get some more family fun in before college starts again, so they all came to learn something new! This was their first time in the forge. They all made fantastic knives!
6/7/25
These two were absolute naturals at welding!
