First "Annual," American Bladesmithing Society's Fall New York Hammer-in, 2002.

Being a bladesmith in Northern New England can be an isolating experience, so I was thrilled when I heard that the American Bladesmith Society was planning a hammer-in in upstate New York. As I drove through the early Fall foliage I ran through the mental checklist of workshops I planned to attend: Mosaic Damascus with Steve Schwarzer, Damascus Pattern Development with Don Fogg, ABS Cutting and Edges with Jerry Fisk, Mokume with JD Smith... The list ran on. I was finally going to meet some of the Smiths who have inspired so many of us.

I arrived at the reclusive Camp Schodack late Thursday evening after a long drive and a couple wrong turns. I had missed the nearby tour of the Bader Grinder facilities, but found a warm welcome at the outdoor 'lounge,' where Jan Dubois checked me in and the kitchen staff found me some dinner. The small porch was crowded with Mastersmiths and Journeymen of note as the remnants of Hurricane Isadore began their weekend deluge. Everyone introduced themselves and I spent the evening engaged in some very inspirational shop-talk evesdropping.

The morning came quickly and I made my way to a hearty breakfast. My first workshop was going to be Mosaic and Powder Damascus with Steve Schwarzer. Steve's easy demeanor and demonstration made things look deceptively simple. He had prepared a demo piece for the arrival of the History Channel, which was planning on covering the event. Kevin Cashen, whose work focuses on Migration Era and Viking Age swords had even made a last minute trip back to New England after having just been at the Ashokan Bladesmithing Conference the week before. The buzz about the History Channel covering the event was palpable. What great press!


Schwarzer created this powder damascus billet for the History Channel.

Next came Don Fogg covering Damascus Pattern Development. Don's approach to patterns was a great contrast with Steve's. Whereas Steve talked about the importance of planning and maintaining a powder damascus pattern, Don stressed the importance of experimenting and remaining playful. Ileft the workshop thoroughly inspired to get back in the studio and make my daily toil fun again.


Don Fogg forges a jelly-roll damascus billet.

After lunch I sat in on Jerry Fisk's Edge workshop. Bill Moran was originally also going to contribute but couldn't make it due to an illness. Edge geometry is one of those subjects that gets glossed over in books and introductory knifemaking courses, so I was rapt with attention on this one. Jerry laid out blade shapes, appropriate edges, sharpening methods and discussed the various advantages and disadvantages of different edge types. He stressed the importance of choosing the right edge for the right blade and cutting purpose, and did it in his very affable and irreverent manner.


Jerry Fisk discusses proper edge geometry.

I spent the next block of workshops meandering back and forth between Mokume & Fancy Filework with JD Smith, Hidden Tang Handles with Harvey Dean, Carving steel with Daniel Stephan and Donald Bell and Hands on Forging with Christoph Deringer. Having made some of my own Mokume I was very intrigued to watch JD vastly simplify the process. JD demonstrated quite successfully an easy method for making Mokume and I, for one, plan on making much more of it in the future as a result. I have also always wanted to carve steel, and Daniel and Don were both off in a quiet spot doing just that. Folks were coming and going to the Steel Carving demo much as I was, so it turned into a much more personal exchange with both artisans demonstrating different techniques to achieve the same end. I walked away with a deep inspiration to put their instruction to good use; they made it look so easy! The same can be said for Christoph's demonstration on forging... Christoph has a novel approach to forging... 'I just get it hot and hit it until it does what I want!' After seeing his integral blades forged with incredible curved guards I can see that Deringer can indeed get the steel to do just exactly what he wants, and no less.


The cutting demo was as entertaining as it was educational. pictured ( back to front, left to right ) Mace Vitale, Jay Hendrickson, Rob Hudson, Jan Dubois, Mardi Meshejian, Tom Eden, Van Voorhis, Dan Farr, John Frankl, JD Smith, Sean Moore, Michael Moore. Dan Farr walked away with the first prize and Jan Dubois managed to lose the most points with none other than Jerry Fisk's own knife...

That was just the first full day. As Friday ended late into the night, I started Saturday tired but buzzing with hot coffee. Don Fogg covered heat-treating and Dellana and Van Barnett discussed Gentleman's Folders. Harvey Dean explored Forged Blade Grinding and JD Smith put his excellent teaching skills to work at the forge.

After lunch we set up our tables and got an ABS show of the highest caliber. Only a few collectors showed up, and those who did got first choice from some top-notch makers. I've been to about three shows where most of these folks sold out within hours- it was great to see their work first-hand. The collectors who show up next year are in for some steals; this was one of the first attempts to tie hammer-ins together with knife shows, and I think the model has enormous potential for all of us.

After the show Col. Tim Ryan worked the ABS auction with an infectious sense of humor. Folks were quite moved when one of the kitchen staff members bid $75.00 on a knife and no one wanted to outbid her! I think everyone had been appreciating the hard work in the kitchen. Tim suggested that the rest of us make 'donations,' so she could keep the bid and I heard that the knife made quite a bit more than $75.00 for the ABS in addition to inspiring at least one new collector.

Sunday arrived with a few workshops such as Carving Ivory with Joseph Szilasky, Handles and Design with Jay Hendrickson, Fancy Folders with Barry Davis and Medieval Axe Forging again with Szilasky. This last one was fun, due in large part to Szilasky's dry wit on the subject of fighting with Medieval axes... I guess you had to be there.

...Which reminded me that I had not seen the History Channel anywhere all weekend. Alas, it turned out they had gotten lost and the ABS was going to have to wait for another such great press opportunity. Considering that the ABS fosters and maintains a tradition that goes back to the oldest known tools in the world I thought this was truly a shame. Camp Schodack is in a beautiful location close to Boston and New York City, and well-hidden. The ABS hopes to turn this event into an annual affair attracting both makers and collectors alike. As one of the first major events of the kind to happen in New England I would personally like nothing more than to see its continued success. So if you live in or even near New England and you enjoy the forged blade... there is no excuse for not showing up next year!