Full Blast

Before social media, there was a concern about how forging will flourish in the future. There were lots of organizations, guilds and small groups devoted to people in the community, but how do you get more exposure to the general public? With the rise of social media, more talented blacksmiths, blade smiths and farriers are exposing to the world the beauty of forging. And if thats the case, right...

After an amazing 10 days in Barcelona, Spain with my great friends at Florentine Kitchen Knives I’m back with a recap. I had recorded with Tomer Botner, and 10 minutes in construction workers started rattling our cages upstairs and jack hammered the audio into oblivion. I’ll get him back. Tomer is a busy guy. I talked about the Workshops, fun with the students and the incredible food. Fun Solo ep...

This was an episode I’ve been thinking about for a while. I spent time remembering my Uncle Jay St. John and told funny stories in his memory. He was a huge part of my upbringing, always joking and encouraging me to swing at pitches. Very funny memories and I may have gone too far. Haha. I had some dream revelations and talked about the great our pouring of kind words from the last episode with my...

My daughter Lila joins the podcast as she’s days away from graduating High school. We talked about the stresses of juggling College applications while participating as a Varsity swimmer and keeping a her grades up. It was an interesting conversation that neither of us expected. A lot of new perspectives and some good take aways. We recapped stories from each others point of view and had some laugh...

My man Chris Cash(AKA @Mt_phillip_metal_works on instagram) is back! Blacksmith, Artist, Facilitator, Tool Restoration Champion, Podcaster and many many more. I love this guy. One of the nicest most honest friends who will tell you how it is. We had a great time talking about the logistics of buying an old power hammer how he gets it back to his shop, completely restore and figure out how to get i...

Matt Stagmer returns for a fun conversation about Baseball, Sports and the relationship between fandom and the maker community. Is there a relationship? Very excited for Matt who’s holding a class at the Blade show this year on how he had to unlearn old habits in order successfully pass the Journeyman smith test last year; should be very informative. Matt is the man and we always have a great time...

What’s going on? This was quite a week with unforeseen things coming up that had to be addressed.  I had guest lined up and I was fired up and something came up that I had to Postpone the show. No choice. And it was the right on I’m convinced. Who was it? Why was it postponed and what the hell. All will be explained as I solo’d the show this week. It was fun bringing t back to my roots. Give it a...

Dr. Larrin Thomas is one of the leading experts in metallurgy specifically knife steel. His book “Knife Engineering: Steel, Heat Treating and Geometry” is an incredible resource for knifemakers. It’s a must have for anyone with the slightest interest in the craft; Data sheets, Steel characteristics and a detailed heat treating recipe section with variables that give the user a wide range of succes...

Mark Adams is a photographer that you are probably familiar with- @markadamspictures on Instagram. He has generously set up mobile photoshoots at events like Makers Camp, Workbenchcon and other gatherings to take iconic photo’s of most of the maker community. I met him a few years ago at Maker’s Camp and we struck up a friendship. Last year he organized a panel discussion and we had a fun conversa...

Jesse Savage is back and on the way to Center of Metal Arts to teach a weekend workshop with his wife Carrie. We always have a good time talking about blacksmithing, history and what we’ve been up to. We also remembered my teacher Uri Hofi, who was a big influence on a lot of people’s lives. We talked about his late in life start in blacksmithing, his teachers, students and legacy and what defines...

Ben Paik AKA Woby Design is Back! Woodworker, YouTuber and new father joined me for another fun Ep. We recorded this a few weeks ago before his daughter was born and we wish the little family the best! Had a great time catching up on what he’s been up to in the shop including his use of skateboard decks and how the colors in the laminated plywood work together. Then we had some fun down the Weird...

I’m so honored to have returned to Center for Metal Arts to kick off the 2023 Curriculum with my Forged Friction Folder weekend workshop. Patrick Quinn, the Director of CMA has become a good friend and a leader in the furthering of Forging Education in the United States. I brought a mic and we recorded an episode in his office. We talked about CMA the events coming up and how Johnstown has influen...

Ben Kamon (@kamon_knives on Instagram)one of the best blademiths in the game and back for another round. We talked about his style and the intricacies of his process. It was a fun talk about the sensitivities of business and customer service. We covered a lot of shop talk then finished off with some weird news. Ben rules and I always enjoy when he’s on. We’ll definitely do it again- He’ll be baack...

Bre Pettis is an innovator and pioneer in Desk Top CNC machinery as we know it. Founder and CEO of Makerbot, Bre became a Global phenomenon in the Desktop 3D Printing industry. Now he’s the CEO of Bantam Tools a revolutionary Desktop CNC Milling machine company in Peekskill NY. I’ve been fortunate enough to become friends with Bre and had the pleasure of having him in my shop to forge Friction Fol...

Alexander Bol comes from an Oyster farming family dating back over 100 years in the Netherlands. With vivid memories of spending time on Oyster boats Alexander wanted to make his father an oyster knife as a present after seeing his dad’s break. This led Alexander down the Youtube Rabbit hole of knife makers like Aaron Gough and Michael Trollsky and started him down the path of engineering his line...

Ben’s back to pick up where we started 2 weeks ago. From strange human interaction to wild animal interaction we had a great time. Food trends, cocaine hippos, and other bizarre news, this is how it is for an episode of “Cowboy Seinfeld”. Definitely give Ben a follow and listen to all the back eps with he’s been on. Thanks again-GF Follow Ben on Instagram:  https://instagram.com/bensnure?igshid=Ym...

My friend Aaron Gough is back. He’s been in hiding and working like crazy to get his new facility built. Aaron’s YouTube tutorials on knifemaking are easily some of the best out there. He’s inspired countless knife makers including myself with his very informative and approachable videos on different aspects of making knives. With a background in computer programming his work is very CNC heavy I a...

By popular demand my buddy Ben Snure is back. We had a great conversation talking about the new efficiencies in his shop and how technological innovation will streamline his business. As a one man shop, pumping out a lot of forged hammers- everything matters. We had a long conversation about the hatred of breaking taps and why do people put tomatoes in salad. Like an episode of Cowboy Seinfeld. We...

Chris Zeppieri AKA @Makeeverythingshop is a fabricator, contractor, Content creator, and that’s just the start. I’ve know Chris for a while and he never ceases to amaze me with his drive, knowledge and ability to communicate his vast skills. He’s great behind the mic and on camera…but is he too New York for the National stage? I feel like there’s a bias against New Yorkers because Chris is perfect...

Jesse Savage and I have been asking what the role of the modern day blacksmith is for years. We’ve been asking guests on his podcast “The Blacksmith’s Pub” as well as this one for a long time. This week he joins me to take a look at the last 3 episodes “Conduit to Generations” to try to come to some conclusions. The Last 3 episodes were a look at 3 master bladesmiths and the importance of deliveri...

Master bladesmith Nick Rossi is back for the final leg of Conduit to Generations, a 3 part series where I talked to 3 established Mastersmiths and we discuss what our role is in the furthering of this craft over time. Nick is the gold standard of teaching in this new age of knifemaking. ’New’ meaning the last 50ish years where recreational learning of what was once considered a trade is prospering...

Master bladesmith Jordan LaMothe is back, fresh off a 9 month adventure in India. Last we saw Jordan he was on the way to Blade Show to test for the ABS Master Bladesmith designation and he came back with the MS stamp, multiple awards and stories to tell. I’ve been waiting patiently for Jordan to return to tell us what it was like as a Fulbright scholar studying Swords, knives, the beautiful cultu...

Master bladesmith Jason Knight is one of the most recognizable Knifemakers today. From his years as a student of some of the best Bladesmiths in the world to teaching the new top talents, Jason has carved his reputation as generous, talented, innovative, hardworking and a lot fun. His interpretation of the Nepalese Kukri is one of his calling cards. We talked about the history of the Kukri and the...

Noah Vachon is one of the most articulate people in the knifemaking game. His beginnings in music and Guitar building totally influenced his style, and approach that permeate his work at Vachon Knives (even if he doesn’t think so). We caught up on the new year and what’s been going on. Realized we were 20 blocks away from each other as we rung in Y2K and had a great time talking about the pressure...

I love Traditions. The first episode of the new year is always reserved for Jessie Uyeda. We catch up, tell stories and start the year having fun. We talked about the Burglary at Jessie’s project which was terrible, the outpouring of support in the community which was amazing. We told a few stories and covered some weird news. Jessie Rules and is alway fun to talk with.  Follow Jessie on instagram...