Welcome to my new blog. My goal is to share what I am working on and help you learn about life in the early days of the American Frontier.
I have always worked with my hands to make stuff. Several years ago, I became interested in living history and blacksmithing. It wasn’t long before the two hobbies merged, and now I travel to different events to show the public what an artificer (skilled tradesman for the military) life and work is like. One of the most common questions I get when I am demonstrating is how I got interested and started blacksmithing, so I thought that I would share that for my first post.
I am an Eagle Scout – I have been involved in Boy Scouts since I was seven years old, and one skill that I would say I am a master of is firemaking. Wilderness survival introduced me to flint & steel fire starting at a young age. In the many times camping, I always notice that one skill many people struggle to master is building a fire. I can remember my first summer camp, not yet eleven years old, and sitting at the side of a gravel road assembling the twigs and branches to start my first fire. We were given instructions and two matches. I was meticulous, and gathered a lot of fine twigs and built the teepee and set the match ablaze. Of course it burned out quickly, and I realized that I didn’t have everything ready to feed it. I learned. Today, it is a rare occurrence that a fire dies on my watch.
Now, I consider myself a master at building a fire, and whether it starts with a match, a butane lighter, or my forged steel and flint, I still love the skill and ability it takes to start a fire. It is an essential skill for survival, and one part of wilderness survival merit badge was the catalyst to start my path to being a blacksmith. I worked at a summer camp several years ago, sharing a frontier program based on the history of the fur trade, and one skill we taught was forging simple camp items. We made S hooks and flint strikers mostly. But it was there that I mastered my first (and best) fire steel. In fact, I still carry and demonstrate with it over eight years later. I spent many days a week honing the basic blacksmith skills. The fire was ignited and I was hooked.
A few years of playing around and I converted my forge into a more portable setup. I built my leather bellows to replace the crank blower to reflect the early 1800s style. And now I have become involved with a 1812 military group, portraying an artificer – the blacksmith who travels with the unit as a contractor, serving the needs of the unit. I share the history of the trades and the skills of the craft. I dispel myths and instill an interest in the art of beating hot iron into useful shapes.
And I make fire. A lot! Just asking me what I am making often spurs the conversation towards how fire was started in the 18th century. Usually I pull out the tools and start up a fire while describing each step in detail followed by example. Most are surprised to see it happen so quickly (my record is 17 seconds). Of course, I say that I am a professional at it, and they laugh. But I am. So, if you see me at an event, be sure to ask about making fire, and I will gladly show you the steps, and my kits, and you will surely walk away with the history and the basics of building a fire.