Hello, my name is Massimo Pasotti.
I Live in Northern Italy in the foothills of the Alps In the region of Brescia, in an area known for iron, steel and firearm works, One of the most famous manufacturer in the area is the Beretta Firearm works.
I make custom made knives, many of them start at the forge called "Maglio Averoldi", literally "Averoldi's water hammer works". The Maglio is demonstrably the oldest still operating water hammer in the world, tracing its roots back to 1115 AD
I work at the forge with Maestro Dario Quartini, which supervises all the forge's output and does all the custom knife forgings. Once the blank is done, I bring it to my shop for hand finishing.
The Water Hammer and the forge
I very much appreciate your interest, I thought I would show you the construction of a custom made bushcraft knife, from forging to finished product.
Preparing the bars. it is a San Mai forging, but with only one type of steel: 1095
Under the water hammer
Shaping
In the shop
Finished product
Overall Lenght: 9 1/2"
Blade Lenght: 5 1/4"
Blade thickness: 1/4' (EDIT)
Blade height, ahead of the ricasso: 1 7/16
Grind: Convex
Handle: Spacers and Micarta
Firesteel handle: polished deer handle
Weight: 9 Oz.
Weight with Sheath: 13.3 OZ
Steel:1095
Forging: San mai
Special features:
-Firesteel strap retention snap
-Aggressive burred 90deg. edge indent on the spine for twig shaving and firesteel sparking
-hollow rivets -
Here is more on the Maglio, where I do my forgings with Dario Quartini
The Averoldi Works
Ome, Brescia, Italy
The old Averoldi works are situated in the Grotta area of Ome.
In 1155, the monastery of Rodengo bought a property at Cerezzata, Ome, which included vineyards, fields, woodland and part of a mill. This property was kept by the monastery until the end of the sixteenth century because it was profitable, being used for grinding grain from the monastery and for making iron agricultural tools.
References to the mill are frequent and detailed from 1500 onwards, and show it to have been efficient and active under the proprietor Forelli Battola.
In 1641 it was equipped with two waterwheels. In the commercial assessment of 1744, when it belonged to Pavolo Battola, there were references to "a mill with just one waterwheel" equipped with "a millstone that grinds only grape seeds" and to a "forge with two fires". The commercial assessment of 1750 describes it as a "forge with two fires with unreliable water", where Pavolo Battola, son of Stefano, produced "small irons".
During the 19th century, it passed through various hands and continued its dual activity. In 1819 it was referred to as a "forge workshop" and, in the cadastral map of 1851, as "a forge with kiln and water with habitation; corn mill and oil watermill with habitation and 19 vegetable plots".
In the late 1800s it became the property of the Averoldi family, who used it to make agricultural tools for local people and for other villages in the Franciacorta area. Andrea Averoldi, called 'the maer', was the last member of the family to work iron in this forge using traditional techniques.
The forge comprises a two-storey building for working iron, with a front porch for communal use, storerooms, and rooms for the machines moved by water power. It is almost rectangular in shape, laid out according to the lie of the land, following the access road on the west side and the course of the mill's irrigation channel. The entrance is below the level of the road with a ramp to facilitate the movement of materials and goods.
The working area that houses the forge and hammer covers 78 m2 and is 4 metres high. The fire is blown by airflow produced by water falling in a vertical tube; the water moves the waterwheel mounted on a long wooden shaft, which transmits power to the hammer and other machinery. Below the hammer is an anvil on which the pliable, white-hot iron is worked, and nearby is a vat of water used to temper the hot iron.
The tools have been kept in their original places, and some items are displayed individually to show the various stages of working.
A room which is reached from the roadway is used to store wood and coal for the fire.
The walls of the entire building are made of stone bonded with a little mortar. The gently-sloping pan-tiled roof is a wooden-beamed structure covered with boards and tiles. Buttresses support the southern outer wall and help to strengthen the bed of the irrigation channel.
The floor is made of beaten earth to absorb the blows of the hammer, and in summer it is cooled by sprinkling with water.
The white-hot iron used to be worked in the half-light, so openings were not necessary. However, the windows and slits which are set irregularly in the outer walls provide a little light and also serve to let out the heat and smoke. A door near the forge leads outside and provides access for maintenance to the waterwheel.
The Ome Town Council purchased the forge in 1997 and had it restored and put back into operation.
I can entertain most reasonable requests for custom-make work, the knives that are forged at the Maglio come with a certificate of origin and authenticity.
Thank you very much for your interest, I am looking forward to answer any questions you may have.
Maxpax introduction to Bladeforums
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1026523-Introduction-MaxPax-Custom-Knives
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1029253-The-water-hammer-in-action
Website, contact and complkete knife showcase
http://maxpaxknifer.wordpress.com/
I Live in Northern Italy in the foothills of the Alps In the region of Brescia, in an area known for iron, steel and firearm works, One of the most famous manufacturer in the area is the Beretta Firearm works.
I make custom made knives, many of them start at the forge called "Maglio Averoldi", literally "Averoldi's water hammer works". The Maglio is demonstrably the oldest still operating water hammer in the world, tracing its roots back to 1115 AD
I work at the forge with Maestro Dario Quartini, which supervises all the forge's output and does all the custom knife forgings. Once the blank is done, I bring it to my shop for hand finishing.
The Water Hammer and the forge
I very much appreciate your interest, I thought I would show you the construction of a custom made bushcraft knife, from forging to finished product.
Preparing the bars. it is a San Mai forging, but with only one type of steel: 1095
Under the water hammer
Shaping
In the shop
Finished product
Overall Lenght: 9 1/2"
Blade Lenght: 5 1/4"
Blade thickness: 1/4' (EDIT)
Blade height, ahead of the ricasso: 1 7/16
Grind: Convex
Handle: Spacers and Micarta
Firesteel handle: polished deer handle
Weight: 9 Oz.
Weight with Sheath: 13.3 OZ
Steel:1095
Forging: San mai
Special features:
-Firesteel strap retention snap
-Aggressive burred 90deg. edge indent on the spine for twig shaving and firesteel sparking
-hollow rivets -
Here is more on the Maglio, where I do my forgings with Dario Quartini
The Averoldi Works
Ome, Brescia, Italy
The old Averoldi works are situated in the Grotta area of Ome.
In 1155, the monastery of Rodengo bought a property at Cerezzata, Ome, which included vineyards, fields, woodland and part of a mill. This property was kept by the monastery until the end of the sixteenth century because it was profitable, being used for grinding grain from the monastery and for making iron agricultural tools.
References to the mill are frequent and detailed from 1500 onwards, and show it to have been efficient and active under the proprietor Forelli Battola.
In 1641 it was equipped with two waterwheels. In the commercial assessment of 1744, when it belonged to Pavolo Battola, there were references to "a mill with just one waterwheel" equipped with "a millstone that grinds only grape seeds" and to a "forge with two fires". The commercial assessment of 1750 describes it as a "forge with two fires with unreliable water", where Pavolo Battola, son of Stefano, produced "small irons".
During the 19th century, it passed through various hands and continued its dual activity. In 1819 it was referred to as a "forge workshop" and, in the cadastral map of 1851, as "a forge with kiln and water with habitation; corn mill and oil watermill with habitation and 19 vegetable plots".
In the late 1800s it became the property of the Averoldi family, who used it to make agricultural tools for local people and for other villages in the Franciacorta area. Andrea Averoldi, called 'the maer', was the last member of the family to work iron in this forge using traditional techniques.
The forge comprises a two-storey building for working iron, with a front porch for communal use, storerooms, and rooms for the machines moved by water power. It is almost rectangular in shape, laid out according to the lie of the land, following the access road on the west side and the course of the mill's irrigation channel. The entrance is below the level of the road with a ramp to facilitate the movement of materials and goods.
The working area that houses the forge and hammer covers 78 m2 and is 4 metres high. The fire is blown by airflow produced by water falling in a vertical tube; the water moves the waterwheel mounted on a long wooden shaft, which transmits power to the hammer and other machinery. Below the hammer is an anvil on which the pliable, white-hot iron is worked, and nearby is a vat of water used to temper the hot iron.
The tools have been kept in their original places, and some items are displayed individually to show the various stages of working.
A room which is reached from the roadway is used to store wood and coal for the fire.
The walls of the entire building are made of stone bonded with a little mortar. The gently-sloping pan-tiled roof is a wooden-beamed structure covered with boards and tiles. Buttresses support the southern outer wall and help to strengthen the bed of the irrigation channel.
The floor is made of beaten earth to absorb the blows of the hammer, and in summer it is cooled by sprinkling with water.
The white-hot iron used to be worked in the half-light, so openings were not necessary. However, the windows and slits which are set irregularly in the outer walls provide a little light and also serve to let out the heat and smoke. A door near the forge leads outside and provides access for maintenance to the waterwheel.
The Ome Town Council purchased the forge in 1997 and had it restored and put back into operation.
I can entertain most reasonable requests for custom-make work, the knives that are forged at the Maglio come with a certificate of origin and authenticity.
Thank you very much for your interest, I am looking forward to answer any questions you may have.
Maxpax introduction to Bladeforums
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1026523-Introduction-MaxPax-Custom-Knives
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1029253-The-water-hammer-in-action
Website, contact and complkete knife showcase
http://maxpaxknifer.wordpress.com/
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