Full Blast

This Crossover is actually kind of a part 2. Last week I was on the Work For it Podcast with Brian House and Bryan Kohn and we had a fun time there. The episode is titled “Blast off with Geoff Feder” and feel free to listen to it before this one. But you’ll get what’s going on  if you don’t. I listen to the Work for it Podcast every thursday and enjoy it so you should too. This episode was interes...

Leah Aripotch returns to the show and we dive deep into metal sculpture. Leah is an incredible artist known for painstaking detail and beautiful forged and fabricated nightmarish botanical pieces. Leah has grabbed the attention of the the knife making world including her recent sculptural collaboration with Bladesmith Joshua Prince and most recently, taking home “The Best Collaboration” Award at t...

We’re back with a blockbuster episode! I’m joined this week with Will Stelter JS, James Fleming JS, Matt Stagmer JS, and the Mysterious Nick Rossi MS! We all got together to recap the most recent Blade Show where they were all testing  for for the American Bladesmith Society’s Journeyman Smith and in Nick’s case, Mastersmith. They all told their stories on why the decided to test, the stresses in...

This episode of the Downward Spiral was recorded in 2012 When Niko Tavernise and I were regularly going to either his porch or my shop with a bottle of booze and recording an episode. This particular episode Niko was working on the film Noah with Russell Crow(see I knew who it was) Back from filming in Iceland, we just wanted to shoot the breeze, tell funny stories and fool around. This ep is inte...

This episode of the Downward Spiral was recorded in 2012 When Niko Tavernise and I were regularly going to either his porch or my shop with a bottle of booze and recording an episode. This particular episode we were joined by my great friend Tony Aiazzi who is now my business partner at Feder Knives. We had just had dinner and got the microphone. It was a lot of fun talking restaurant biz and our...

Matt Stagmer is back and on the road to test for the Journeyman Smith designation from the American Bladesmith Society (ABS). It’s no easy feat; even though Matt has made thousands of swords and knives the 5 he’s working on to submit have to be the best he ever made. We had a great conversation talking about how the process is going and how its influencing how he makes knives now. Will he will be...

2 years ago I didn’t think i’d have put out 104 episodes every week without a break. Consistent shows that get better and better. Amazing guests, and interesting conversations with makers from all over the place. This week I thought I’d celebrate with Mareko Maumasi and Craig Lockwood, the co-hosts of Knife Talk Podcast: The Number 1 Knife related Podcast on this germ infested planet(I started say...

Andrew Alexander is funny,  compelling and full of great stories with excellent flair. Falling in love with forging, Andrew started collecting tools and has become one of the most knowledgable facilitators of restored metalworking equipment in the United States. We had a great conversation about some of his adventures buying metal shops, crossing boarders and his greatest purchase. We compared Cul...

Matt Harris is a Blacksmith and sculptor in Perryville, Maryland where he has a studio and company specializing in architectural forgings and Sculpture called Matthew Harris Studio. Matt builds beautiful railings, gates and residential ironwork that range from classic to more sculptural and you can see the connection and his personal style. Creating movement and flowing lightness is a theme in bot...

Matt Parkinson is a Bladesmith and Swordmarker, of Dragons Breath Forge in Wolcott, Connecticut, a ABS Journeyman Smith and the first ever Forged in Fire Champion. We had a great time talking about how he got his start and his love of swords. His experience building them and how knowing the history has given him a unique perspective on famous swords and how to spot fakes. We talked about what forg...

For Episode 100 I hade my original Podcasting partner back. Niko Tavernise and I had a podcast 12ish years ago called “The Downward Spiral” where we’d catch up on what we’re doing- Niko is a Set photographer in the film industry and has a unique perspective on Hollywood. Then we’d spiral; I roam the Internet looking for weird stories of depravity and we’d dissect them. Recently the ones I find the...

Description:  Jesse Savage of Savage Forge returns to talk about the past. Jesse is one of my good friends and is not only a great blacksmith, but is a wealth of knowledge on the history of blacksmithing, anvils and an instructor at The Center for Metal Arts. He’s also a founding member of the 7 blue ribbon championship forging team “The Modern Forge”.  We had a great time catching up about our ti...

Aaron Gough of Gough Customs returns to talk about the future. Aaron is a knifemaker who’s direction is very tied into technology and CNC, I wanted to compare and contrast our specific directions and it was fun. We talked about the future of making, “the singularity” and what the hell “Post Scarcity” is. Its always fun catching up with Aaron who’s a huge influence on many  knifemakers with some of...

It’s very rare when I get to record a podcast from anywhere but my shop; I’m usually speaking to a guest remotely from the comfort of my Jeep recording booth. I had the honor of teaching a weekend workshop at The Center for Metal Arts in Johnstown, PA and after having the pleasure of podcasting with CMA’s executive director Pat Quinn before, it seemed appropriate to bring a travel mic and get some...

Ben Paik has a fascinating story. Growing up a popular kid in a rural town in Korea, his parents immigrated to California where Ben had to figure out how to start over in an American High School speaking little to no English. It wasn’t easy. What lead him to being a maker is a tale of redemption and reclamation of human spirit. Finding used and broken skateboards as the material of choice, Ben glu...

Lin Rhea is a Master Bladesmith from Prattsville, Arkansas and one of the most innovative knife makers in the game today. After years as a Bladesmith and earning the ABS ‘Master’ designation he became very involved with the Historic Arkansas Museum as the Resident Blacksmith. The nature of the position gave him access to research about classic blacksmithing techniques, which lead him to the doorst...

THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL RIDES AGAIN!!! If you’re reading this and wondering: “What is this all about?” Stop everything and go back through the Archives of The Full Blast Podcast and listen to the previous eps labeled “Downward Spiral”.  Over 12 years ago Niko Tavernise (Hollywood set photographer to the stars) and I started a podcast called the ‘Downward Spiral’ where we would catch up in the first ha...

If you ask most people in the knife making community to create a list of influential contemporary bladesmiths, it’s hard for me to believe Salem Straub wouldn’t be high in the mix. His style and execution of complicated mosaic, Damascus knives are easily recognizable for the crisp contrasts, intricate patterns and thoughtful decisions. The multi pattern construction also gives purpose to the compo...

My friend Derek from Malden is one of the kindest people I’ve met. He’s a maker in Massachusetts who came into his own later in life after recuperating from an injury, when his son suggested he watch DIY videos on Youtube. The story of how he met Jimmy Diresta, struck up a friendship and activated something in him he wasn’t sure he had has now lead him to being on a new Netflix Show called “Making...

James Fleming is a US Army combat Veteran who is now a full time Bladesmith in Iowa. We had an interesting conversation starting off talking about how our upbringing and relationships with our parents influence our parenting now. We touched on James’s early days leading him into military service and the difficult transition into civilian life and ultimately becoming a Bladesmith. James has a front...

Description:  Joe Maynard is a retired Army Helicopter who has served his country proudly for 20 years. After finding the love of knife making at a tough time in his life Joe helps others and gives back by traveling around in his mobile forge to show people how knife making can be a rewarding pursuit. We talked about his time flying and made the connections between his former life in the army and...

Stephanie Hoffman is an accomplished welder, instructor, and the face of the American Welding Society. She has a fabrication shop on the Jersey Shore, where she grew up called Underground Metalworks; and it didn’t all come without a price. The beginning of her welding career wasn’t easy as she faced obstacles that she had to overcome; she was overlooked and not welcome in an industry that she love...

Keith Mitchell is a woodworker who studied boatbuilding and learned the traditional way of boat design to become a Shipwright. His experience at school, learning these classic techniques informed his methodology and changed the way he views being a craftsman. The preparation of timber as well as the calculation and prediction of steam bending wood perfectly has very parallel philosophies to blacks...

My buddy John Erianne, AKA @sunsetforgenj on instagram, came in for a catch up which is always fun. We talked a lot about hammer making and what’s the right hammer for you. We also decided which styles hammer are overrated, underrated and perfectly rated. It is crazy to me the general public has very little understanding of how people who forge see hammers as tools of creativity as opposed to dest...

Jessie Uyeda is one of my favorite people to talk to and it’s a great omen to start the year strong with this champion on the podcast. We talked about what she’s working on out in Joshua Tree, her approach to her Youtube channel and what “Toil ASMR” is. I really appreciate Jessie’s perspective on things and just listening to her views on life, Alec Baldwin and the state of social media. Thanks for...