Help me spend $8000!

[HomeBru]

I've been poking around BF for about a year now gleaning TONS of useful information (and useless junk in W/C!) from all of you, thanks for being such a great community!

As a teacher in Indiana, I have the opportunity to write for an $8000 grant from the Lilly Foundation for a personal renewal project.

The program has supported creative projects that are personally renewing and intellectually revitalizing. While personal renewal is the main goal of this program, applicants are encouraged to demonstrate how their proposed projects will affect their students' engagement in the learning process.

I am interested in writing a grant to travel the states learning forging and blacksmithing with a focus on knives but also farm and early settlement type smithing and I could really use your expertise.

Here are some of my thoughts:
- Centered around family camping trips. Areas of historical significance are preferred.
- Start with some basic smithing, making basic smithing tools, etc.
- Basic bladesmithing.
- Building my own gas forge.
- End the process with enough info to start making knives and all the tools I need to start.

This would be written during the coming summer and the activities would take place in the summer of '09 so I'm not in a major hurry but would like to start some research now.

Any suggestions on how to go about the process? What are the "best" classes/schools in the country? I'll be spending "corporate America's" money so it'll be fun but I'd also like to get as much bang for the bucks as possible.

Thanks,

J-

 

[oldfogey]

Just happened to stumble across your post while cruisin' today, and I've got what "I" think is a great suggestion: "Google" your area, and see if you can't get involved with historical re-enact ors. Across the US, there are usually two distinct groups, folks that either re-enact/re-create the Civil War or the fur trade era (buckskinners). I have been involved with the "Buckskinners"/ rendezvous for about the last 25 yrs. There, you could make connections with other blacksmiths, (quite common @ the larger "rendezvous", and it would fit in perfectly. Plus, you'd get exposed to a whole new hobby that you would LOVE!!!
PM me, and I will send you my email address, I can probably hook you up with some contacts that could give you all the info you'd need.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I would consider two weeks at the Bladesmithing school in Old Washington Arkansas. It is run by the ABS.
http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ABS_School1.htm

Lots of history there. You will learn basic bladesmithing and more. Some of the teachers are living treasures.

There are lots of blacksmithing schools, but I have heard that Tom Clark's ,Ozark School of Blacksmithing is a good one.
http://ozarkschool.com/
Stacy

 

[jdm61]

you could spend at least 6 weeks at tha ABS school for $8000 even if you stayed at one of the local motels as opposed to camping. When I was at the Hammer In back in 2005, one of the students in the Basic Bladsmithing class had brought his RV and camped on site. You should definately think about taking the 2 week Basic class. Jerry Fisk told me that had he been able to take a class like that when he wa starting off, it would have knocked about 5 years off of his learning curve. Of course, today, we have access to a lot more information and assistance that Jerry did back in the 80's, but you will still get a head start. The ABS figures that it is worth a year minimum toward you being ready for your JS test.