Too much fun!
Kevin's demos never cease to amaze, and that one was certainly an eye opener... however, I thought we determined that because of the 'standards' commonly being used for flex testing that this knife had flexed 720 degrees? Aren't we supposed to count the return trip as well? Obviously, that man knows how to heat treat!
All of the demos were great this year, and the demonstrators were each fantastic in their own right...
-Dan Maragni's grinding demo pointed out a really simple and totally effective method for grinding in a distal taper that I can't wait to try. His list of 'must-read' books was great, too.
-Ric Furrer's insights on wootz and crucible steels are always intriguing, and so much of the information is NOT what I thought I knew...
-I've seen Burt Foster's integral knife forging demo/clay coat demo twice now, and I caught more on the second time around than I did the first! Burt's a really nice guy, and a born demonstrator!
-Don Fogg's explanation of how to put a final edge bevel on a blade will likely correct a bunch of issues I've been having with that step.
-Howard Schechter's presentation on sharpening was positively fantastic -- I missed the short sword demo AND Jim Siska's grinding demo to stick around and talk with howard (and Mikey Spangler) after his presentation was over. Howard should be on the roster as a fixed item EVERY year, from now on!
-Rick Barrett's just one of the coolest smiths out there, and watching him forge weld a tamahagane billet in my forge was a great treat - I swear, I didn't know it would even get that hot!
It was great to get to see so many forumites (I was actually thinking about trying to list a bunch here, but that's just dumb as hell -- there were so many!), I just want to say thanks to everyone for being as open with their time and experience. Ashokan has been one of the best experiences of my life, and I will likely ALWAYS return.
.
