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J. C. Campbell Folk School
Sword Class 1998
The folk school is a comfortable place, with gentle people dedicated to the values and crafts of another time. We were welcomed there and for a week the blacksmith shop was energized by our class of twelve. I think the single most lasting impression of this class was the overall character of the group, it was a special gathering.
The format was similar to the class outlined in the Sword Class. We began the week by forging a sen, or scraper, to shape the blades. This is a good exercise and allowed us to get use to the forges and anvils at the stations. This is an active teaching forge and consequently the equipment gets abused. Those in charge of maintaining the shop, Clay Spencer and Elmer Rausch, have done a wonderful job of keeping the tools working and making improvements to the major equipment. The main problem most faced was working with blacksmithing anvils and not having suitable flat surfaces to work off. It is so nice to have a simple rectangular working surface. The anvil best suited for bladesmithing would be a sawyer's anvil. They are used to tune the big circular saw blades and are available.
We chose 1050 as our working steel again this year, though some used 1060 and 1084 for their blades. After working with the 1050 over the past year, I have changed my opinion of it and am learning to like it's character. It is very tough, responded well to the heat treatment and holds up well in cutting. In fact, Dickie Robinson won the open class cutting test at the fall ABS hammerin with the sword he made at J.C. Campbell the year before.
I had asked the students to bring a variety of hammers and encouraged them to bring a heavy hammer, 4 to 6 lbs, for the initial forging. My method using a heavy hammer evolved from watching my own bad habits and those of my students. The heavy hammer prevents the student from using his wrist and forces him to maintain control. This method always meets resistance because it is hard to get use to, but when you relax into it, it is a faster and easier way to maintain long flats and bevels.
One of the students, Merrill Davis, brought a cutler's hammer similar to the ones the Japanese use and after giving it a try during a demo, I became convinced of its efficacy. The weight of the hammer is loaded to the face and it has a tendency to self center as you work. It is ideal for forging blades. It weighed just under 4 lbs.
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Most of the class brought new hammers and the faces hand to be reshaped for blade forging. The face of the hammer should have a flat center and a very slight beveled radius to the outside edge, not crowned, but nearly flat. The edges of the hammer face should be rounded so that there are no sharp transitions. The way to tune the face is to forge with it and note the marks that it is making on the steel. If you find sharp edge marks you will need to round them off more. If you are getting dimples, the face isn't flat enough. With a few trials, you can get the hammer set up right. One the cutler's hammer the handle is not at 90 degrees, but has a slight angle. You can see this in the photograph check the angle of the hammer face with the center line of the handle. This is very effective.
Chuck Robinson took time from his sword project and made his own cutler's hammer by reshaping a hammer that he had brought with him.
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