mofretwell
08-29-2009, 09:57 PM
I was out to Ray's shop this Friday to visit, and got to watch an interesting thing. It was interesting enough that I wanted to share it with you all.
It seems that Ray got a telephone call from a young man (age 15), Peter Kilgore, in his church. Peter knew that Ray was a bladesmith, and Peter has been working hard at learning how to make knives for some time. Peter is a quick learner, and very serious about his hobby. He spends hours at it, and the last knife he made, using only hand files, is a great indication of how serious he is. Here's a pic of his knife. My first knife looked like ... well, never mind.
http://www.hawknknives.com/forums/16-PetersKnife-2.jpg
Anyway, Peter called Ray, and introduced himself. He called Ray "Mister Richard." And he asked if Ray would let him watch while Ray hand forged a knife. Ray immediately liked the boy, probably because he called him Mister <grin>. Anyway, Ray invited him out for a free 2-hour forging lesson. I was glad to be there to watch, as was Peter's Dad, Tim.
Here are pictures of the "master" and the "student." I leave it to you to figure out which is which.
http://www.hawknknives.com/forums/1-RayTheMasterBladesmith.jpg
http://www.hawknknives.com/forums/2-PeterTheApprentice.jpg
Ray started out by showing Peter how to light the propane forge, and by giving him a quick explanation of how to use the forging tongs and hammers. Then he emphasized that Peter needed to take the time while the forge was heating the steel to figure out exactly what he wanted to do with it when he took the red hot steel out of the forge. The steel cools quickly, and a good 'smith needs to make good use of the time it is hot enough to work.
Ray had previously cut two identical 6-inch pieces of steel. He gave one to Peter and kept one for himself. He told Peter that he'd do a step on his piece of steel, and then Peter was to repeat that step on his, trying to repeat as closely as possible what he had just seen done. It was a very good way to teach.
Ray first showed Peter how to form the tang, using Ray's custom-built device called "Godzilla." Then he had Peter do the same thing himself with his piece of steel.
Here is a photo of Peter forming the tang.
http://www.hawknknives.com/forums/5-PeterUsingGodzilla-2.jpg
I also include a closeup of Godzilla for those who are unfamiliar with it.
http://www.hawknknives.com/forums/11-Godzilla.jpg
And here is Ray inspecting his young apprentice's work.
http://www.hawknknives.com/forums/12-MasterInspectingApprenticesWork.jpg
Then Ray showed Peter how to stretch and form the blade. Ray emphasized that precise placement of the hammer blows was much more important than how hard you hit the hot steel. Peter understood this immediately and really focused on putting his blows where he wanted them. Peter was amazingly quick to pick up the techniques. I think he has the makings of a future bladesmith.
Here's a pic of Ray forming his blade.
http://www.hawknknives.com/forums/9-RedHotBlade.jpg
I'm limited to only eight photos on this post, so this is the last one, although I took many more. Here are the student's and the master's forged blades. All done in 2 hours.
http://www.hawknknives.com/forums/13-TheForgedBlades.jpg
I think Ray is an amazing instructor and Peter is an excellent student. Can you tell which one of them did which blade? Only Peter, Ray, Tim, and I know for sure.
And then, to my considerable amazement, Ray sold Peter a very nice 65 pound anvil and steel I-beam stand for less than one-fifth its true value!
Ray likes young people, especially those who call him Mister, and particularly those who are interested in knifemaking. He really goes out of his way to help these young people. (I heard a story about one of Ray's custom knives being sold to a young man for less than a nickel on the dollar because Ray knew that was all he had.)
This was just too good to let pass without comment.
Marvin Fretwell
It seems that Ray got a telephone call from a young man (age 15), Peter Kilgore, in his church. Peter knew that Ray was a bladesmith, and Peter has been working hard at learning how to make knives for some time. Peter is a quick learner, and very serious about his hobby. He spends hours at it, and the last knife he made, using only hand files, is a great indication of how serious he is. Here's a pic of his knife. My first knife looked like ... well, never mind.
http://www.hawknknives.com/forums/16-PetersKnife-2.jpg
Anyway, Peter called Ray, and introduced himself. He called Ray "Mister Richard." And he asked if Ray would let him watch while Ray hand forged a knife. Ray immediately liked the boy, probably because he called him Mister <grin>. Anyway, Ray invited him out for a free 2-hour forging lesson. I was glad to be there to watch, as was Peter's Dad, Tim.
Here are pictures of the "master" and the "student." I leave it to you to figure out which is which.
http://www.hawknknives.com/forums/1-RayTheMasterBladesmith.jpg
http://www.hawknknives.com/forums/2-PeterTheApprentice.jpg
Ray started out by showing Peter how to light the propane forge, and by giving him a quick explanation of how to use the forging tongs and hammers. Then he emphasized that Peter needed to take the time while the forge was heating the steel to figure out exactly what he wanted to do with it when he took the red hot steel out of the forge. The steel cools quickly, and a good 'smith needs to make good use of the time it is hot enough to work.
Ray had previously cut two identical 6-inch pieces of steel. He gave one to Peter and kept one for himself. He told Peter that he'd do a step on his piece of steel, and then Peter was to repeat that step on his, trying to repeat as closely as possible what he had just seen done. It was a very good way to teach.
Ray first showed Peter how to form the tang, using Ray's custom-built device called "Godzilla." Then he had Peter do the same thing himself with his piece of steel.
Here is a photo of Peter forming the tang.
http://www.hawknknives.com/forums/5-PeterUsingGodzilla-2.jpg
I also include a closeup of Godzilla for those who are unfamiliar with it.
http://www.hawknknives.com/forums/11-Godzilla.jpg
And here is Ray inspecting his young apprentice's work.
http://www.hawknknives.com/forums/12-MasterInspectingApprenticesWork.jpg
Then Ray showed Peter how to stretch and form the blade. Ray emphasized that precise placement of the hammer blows was much more important than how hard you hit the hot steel. Peter understood this immediately and really focused on putting his blows where he wanted them. Peter was amazingly quick to pick up the techniques. I think he has the makings of a future bladesmith.
Here's a pic of Ray forming his blade.
http://www.hawknknives.com/forums/9-RedHotBlade.jpg
I'm limited to only eight photos on this post, so this is the last one, although I took many more. Here are the student's and the master's forged blades. All done in 2 hours.
http://www.hawknknives.com/forums/13-TheForgedBlades.jpg
I think Ray is an amazing instructor and Peter is an excellent student. Can you tell which one of them did which blade? Only Peter, Ray, Tim, and I know for sure.
And then, to my considerable amazement, Ray sold Peter a very nice 65 pound anvil and steel I-beam stand for less than one-fifth its true value!
Ray likes young people, especially those who call him Mister, and particularly those who are interested in knifemaking. He really goes out of his way to help these young people. (I heard a story about one of Ray's custom knives being sold to a young man for less than a nickel on the dollar because Ray knew that was all he had.)
This was just too good to let pass without comment.
Marvin Fretwell