Hey Stranger!!

It has been a while since I posted here an it is time for that to change. Life is gathering momentum. Fox River Forge has been at it's final permanent residency for several months now and the anvil has been more active then ever before! I have a great many stories to share so please check back from time to time to see what's going on. I will post updates to the FRF Facebook page when theu occure but I have always felt this platform is better suited to what I want to do. I look forward to sharing with you.

Chris
Fox River Forge

My New Hammer

I have always been interested in working with metal and had even made a couple metal sculptures but nothing ever really serious or focused. A little over 6 years ago I received a book about blacksmithing as a birthday present from my parents. As I was reading through it I began to think that this was something I would like to try. As I do with most things I am interested in, I began to research it. Looking online for blacksmithing websites and checking out the library and of course I ended up on YouTube.
As a research tool, YouTube is almost priceless. It allows me to access practical information regarding almost any subject I’m looking for. I began surfing through the pages and pages of videos from all over the world covering all kinds of things related to the topic I was interested in. I began to notice that two names kept popping up. One of the names was GaryHuston and the other was TechnicusJoe. I began watching and re-watching various videos these guys posted and I learned quite a bit. I sort of considered myself as their unofficial intercontinental apprentice.
Time went on and I joined a blacksmithing page on Facebook. One day I see that TechnicusJoe has joined this same page! I was jazzed so I sent him a friend request which he accepted. He then sent me a message saying hello! I will fully admit to being a little star struck. Here is a person, who lives in The Netherlands, whose channel I’ve been studying for years and has thousands of views sending me a message! I had to fight to contain myself. We chatted briefly and time moved on.
Recently, Joe’s YouTube channel hit 1 million views and he posted a video on the subject of raising money in order to continue to make videos and support himself. I sent him a message asking if he would consider commissioned work. I saw he had made a couple hammers and I was interested in maybe having him make me a 2.5 lbs. cross-peen. He replied saying that he could make me a hammer but that it would be very expensive and the cost of shipping would be high considering it was coming from The Netherlands.
I had previously priced out hand-forged hammers so I knew what to expect. We talked back and forth and negotiated a deal that worked out for both of us. He even offered to make a video of him making my hammer! I said I would do an honest video review of his hammer in turn. Here are those videos.


Joe Making My Hammer


Some pictures Joe sent me of my hammer being made

Footage of me using my hammer for the first time




My Review of the hammer Joe made me




As I said in my review video, Working with Joe on this was a wonderful experience. He was very accommodating and asked a variety of questions so that he could make me the best hammer possible. If you’re in the market for a custom made hammer that will last a lifetime and out-perform ANYTHING found in the stores, contact Joe HERE.

2015 update and goals

Happy 2015 Friends!

I thought I’d update everyone on how things are going at Fox River Forge. We are moved into our final location! We have returned to Big Bend and now reside in a garage a short distance from where we first started. In truth, I had wanted to set up in this location all along but I needed to work out the details a little more than I had at the time. Since then I have been out there working on things, building skills and working out the layout of the shop. It still needs some work but it is functional and I feel a real connection with the building we’re in. I will put together a post dedicated to the new shop location. I expect there will be an accompanying video as well.

In this post I want to lay out some goals for 2015. I’m in a place where I believe I can personally dedicate more focus on the forge. I would like to establish some items I want to accomplish this year and then at the end of the year we can review and see how we did. So here are5 things I want to accomplish by December 2015.

1. Do an off-site blacksmithing demo for a public group. This will involve loading my gear, going somewhere, setting up a portable smithy and working with people who have had little if any experience with this craft.

2. Continue to create items at the home location that will eventually be available for purchase. I’d like to have a surplus of wall hooks, bottle openers, corkscrews and other items available to anyone interested in purchasing something like this.

3. Become confident in the task of forge-welding. I see this as an essential skill I will need in order to really grasp the fundamentals of this craft. I have made 3 successful welds so far. I would like to refine the quality and appearance of my welds.

4. I would like to start offering individual blacksmithing classes. These would be a 4 to 6 hour session with an overview of the blacksmithing trade and hands-on experience leading to the student crafting their own piece to take with them.

5. Possibly open an Etsy store. This will depend almost 100% on how goal #2 works out. I briefly looked into it recently and it was enough to confirm my guess that I am not at all ready for one right now.

So there it is, my 2015 goal for Fox River Forge. Here are some photos of items I have made in the past few months.