The Crafts of the Bladesmith, July 14-18
Peter's Valley Craft School
J.Arthur Loose, Instructor.

I received a call a few months back from Dick Sargent, the department head at Peter's Valley Craft School. Dick had asked Don Fogg to teach a bladesmithing class, and he in turn had recommended me. This was no small honor and a great responsibility. I firmly believe that traditional crafts need to be passed down traditionally, and that means in person, orally and by doing.

I arrived at Peter's Valley, in the extreme Northwest corner of New Jersey late on a Thursday evening for my 5 day class. Peter's Valley is spread out over an old farm town that was purchased by the government for development that never happened. As a result it is both rustic and beautiful. The instructors were put up in a lovely old house in the woods, right next to a most picturesque waterfall.



The next morning I found my way to the studio early so I could get my bearings and settle in before the students arrived. I'd never been to the studio and didn't know exactly what my options were going to be until I arrived. The forge room has ten stations, and as we fired them up in 95 degree weather it got quite warm! The studio assistant Beth made sure we had coolers filled with ice water for the hard work of forging out blades. I gave a quick demonstration and then followed up with each student individually as they worked.



On the first evening of a session at Peter's Valley it is customary for the visiting instructors to talk about themselves and their work. I have never before stood in front of a crowd and talked about myself this way, but was told I gave a very good and concise talk. I explained my inspiration, coming as it does from an interest in anthropology & archeology and even managed to wrap things up by coming full circle and talking about the historical legacy I'd like to leave behind.



After a day of forging out practice pieces on mild steel, the students began forging out the 1074 I had ordered. Unfortunately it arrived an inch too wide... Fortunately, this turned into an opportunity to learn how to use the airhammer. Here, department head Dick Sargent and the studio assistant Beth demonstrate drawing out on the airhammer. I have to say I enjoyed the power and control... if my studio weren't in my basement I'd look into getting one.



I gave the first heat-treating demonstration at night so that students could learn how to see the "shadows," and observe intriguing effects such as recalescence, when a cooling blade goes from austenitic to pearlitic and suddenly brightens. Here I am showing this transformation but the flash has washed it out.



Peter's Valley has two Bader grinders, and I demonstrated some of the subtleties of grinding by machine. Most folks hand finished after about 220 grit and I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised at the craftsmanship displayed by my students! Only one had ever made a knife before and one had never even forged before. Most students came away with at least two blades and one handled knife. I was also honored that everybody wanted to work all day and long into most nights, 16 hours in some cases; hard work but deeply rewarding.



Thanks to everyone! I am looking forward to next year's class.