Last weekend a friend of mine invited me to his gathering of blacksmiths. He holds these semi-annually and calls them 'Hammer-ins.' He invited me to pipe and it's fun to pick up some tips on what it takes to mold steel. Here I am with a bearded axe and some helmets:

Here's a close-up of one of the helmets: a Spangenhelm:

The propane forge:

The traditional forge:

Some work in progress:


Finished goods:

Sunny day, three forges, four smiths and one piper=fun day.

JMB