News from the forge...

Just got back from another ass-kicking day of blacksmithing. Before I launch into a vibrant description of my new project I'd like to relate my observations on an interesting phenomenon that affects the Hampshire community. Whenever it snows more than about a foot (which happened Sunday night into Monday morning) the entire campus turns into five-year-olds. Very creative five-year-olds.

By the time I got up everyone was out and about having snowball fights and making snowmen. It was amazing. A bunch of students built up the walls of the smoking gazebo with snow so now when I look out my window I see a little igloo sitting on the quad where the gazebo usually resides.

Now that that's out of the way...

For my final project for JanTerm course, which is now going to become a continuing project spanning probably my entire independent study in blacksmithing this semester, I'm designing and forging a hilt for a swept hilt rapier. I spent the first half of class today drawing my own design using a number of references, historical and reproduced. The next step entailed deciding where to split the design into pieces to be forged seperately and welded together later. I'd like to forge weld them, the way the original smiths did, but that depends on if I can get the coal forge set up and learn how to use it. (We learned on a modern propane forge because its easier to use. You just turn on the propane to a certain pressure and you get a good heat. Coal forges are more traditional but are harder to use by orders of magnitude because the temperature has to be monitored more closely. This is because it can get hot enough to vaporize your entire piece if you aren't careful with the bellows.) So I may have to look into other welding methods to put it all together.

I'm going to construct a mock-up for the grip and the blade in wood in order to have something to mount the finished hilt on. If all goes well this will be replaced with a hand-forged blade sometime later in my Hampshire career. The idea of having a hand-forged rapier by the time I graduate excites me almost beyond belief. I have a feeling this is going to be a long, over-arching project, with little projects in between. I'm going to need to practice smaller blades before I forge the rapier blade, because bladesmithing is a long and grueling process. So I'm thinking daggers and such. Perhaps even a main gauche to match the rapier.

So that's the plan. Oh yes, also copious amounts of study in history and metallurgy and perhaps theatrical fight choreography for stage and film. And there's those pesky urges to write and draw...Well, this is what Hampshire is for, right?

Changes...

It's a sunday and there's a sense of regaining, reorganizing and refocusing my life. There are generally a lot of 'r's. Which tends to happen on sundays, or days that I clean my room (which are generally sundays.)

I've gone through quite a bit of change since December. The New Year was really a new year for me. It's the first time that's ever really happened. I'm using slackware linux exclusively now, I'm considering concentrating in blacksmithing, with emphasis on bladesmithing (swords), I've gained quite a few new friends since returning to school, and Massachusetts very unequivocally feels like home now. These may seem like small things, but my perspective has shifted in slight but powerful ways. In certain things there's a sense of growing up, in others a sense of regressing. But through it all there is a progression, a feeling of being drawn forward by some elusive power. All this without a loss of control. I feel good.

Quite a bit of work lies ahead. I have a final project for blacksmithing, new classes starting in early february, and have just found out that I am not off the hook on a paper I should have completed last semester. It seems like a setback, but I think there will be a feeling of power in completing it. Also, I'm going to have to start talking to people and setting up my Division II work, which will be even more key if I plan on pursuing sword smithing (which, I do). But all of this feels like real work, adult work, and despite the difficulties, it is empowering.

I'm also going to find a job so I can start saving money, because I want options this summer--options that aren't Hope Valley.

Welcome.

The virgin post.

More to come.