Full Blast

What’s going on. Fresh off unloading the jeep from a rainy weekend at Makers Camp I got right back in and recapped a great time. Give its a listen and tell your friends. All the best, - GF Follow Makers Camp on IG: Support  Feder Knives -  https://www.federknives.com/ Follow The Full Blast Podcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thefullblastpodcast?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Please subscribe, leave a...

Nick Rossi returns for another great episode. Nick is a Master Bladesmith with the ABS and one of the best and most recognized Bladesmithing teacher around. We had another great conversation about teaching, travel, Influence Vs. Inspiration and  growing older. This is definitely the golden age of forging and I’m glad there are people like Nick who are helping guide the way.  Follow Nick on Instagr...

Toby Murrill & Onur Caglar have an awesome Podcast called “Fire and Steel” and I listen every week. It’s kind of a maker podcast but they don’t talk a lot about making anything. With the chemistry they have it doesn’t matter what they talk about. Toby and Onur are hilarious together and it’s worth the listen. We had a great time catching up and it was a pile of fun definitely listen to their p...

Finally! After a few attempts we finally got it together. Both Ben Snure and Ben Kamon are incredibly talented Blacksmiths/Blademiths from totally different parts of the world with different backgrounds and upbringings talking the same language: Juvenile humor. We strolled down some classic topics of bodily functions then matured into weird news and actually pondered the difference between ‘being...

My buddy Matt Stagmer is back. Last week he said that his Youtube channel was hacked and it really affected his ability to provide for his family. After years of building up a successful channel and establishing himself with over 800,000 subscribers this was a terrifying ordeal. I invited him to come on and tell the story and it’s pretty crazy and seemingly common. He explained in detail how he wa...

Once I again I made the trek to the incredible Center for Metal Arts in Johnstown, PA to teach a Weekend Workshop. I was greeted by my friend Pat Quinn, the Executive Director of CMA and I had another inspiring time there. How could you not? Every time I come down I see the forward momentum Pat and his team are making, restoring giant utility hammers, creating new curriculum, and uncovering buried...

Ben Kamon is one of the most innovative custom knifemakers in the world. I’ve had him on the show before and we’ve covered a lot of ground. I’m convinced his experience as a blacksmith and fabricator has informed his decisions especially when it comes to problem solving. Knife makers with broad experience in metalworking and fabrication tend to not be confined by construction orthodoxy. Great conv...

What can I do… last week’s episode was lost. I’m sorry, ok? in this episode I explained what happened, told of the harrowing story of dodging hurricanes and earthquakes to deliver our only child to college in Southern California. Avoiding emotional vampires and bad drivers we did it. It was a very crazy experience and I’m glad to share it. Great guests coming up. Send your questions to @Thefullbla...

Matt Gentry is a knife maker from Michigan who makes very recognizable knives, very active in the knifemaking Community and on social Media and YouTube. I’ve known Matt for a long time and this is the first time we’ve actually talked. It was a great conversation about how he learned about business after owning a very busy Car detailing company and how to understand growth. It was a lot of fun talk...

Bob Rankin is a bladesmith, maker of incredible pattern welded steel and a father. Recently Bob and his family have suffered the unthinkable: their son Bobby took his own life. A proud Navy Veteran who loved his family and country very much, Bobby became another statistic in the growing number of Veterans suffering in crisis. We spent time remembering Bobby and the loving moments he had with this...

Ryan Breuer of Breuer Blades is part of the historic class of  journeyman smith from 2 years ago that was one of the biggest group to submit to date. We talked sword making, the importance of the intentions before building one and recounted the terrible story of when TSA put a fingerprint on the knives being judged for the ABS Journeyman smith test.  Here’s a note from Ryan clarifying something he...

Jared Thatcher is one of my favorite people. It’s been a while since he’s been back because his didn’t have internet. I believe in my heart that he ran for mayor of his town ,and won just to get internet. It’s very possible. Jared is the the Bladesmith of Boothill Blades. He also runs his family farm Three Daughters Farm, with his wife Kylee who also makes beautiful carved wood utensils at Boothil...

Niko Tavernise was my first podcast partner on the Downward Spiral Podcast 13 years ago. We’d always catch up and then tackle some weird news.(Definitely look in the archives here for more DSP eps.) Niko is a Hollywood Set photographer and is back home from being on the sets of two huge movies coming soon. We talked about set life, how the Writer’s strike is currently affecting things and hit on s...

Leah Aripotch is Back! I’m such a fan of her work; the intensity, intricate control, command of material and fearlessness. But I think I’m more of a fan of the person she is. Leah is very self aware and understands what she needs to do to find happiness. When it comes to mental health and addressing it in a positive way Leah is very proactive and puts in the work. We talked about something that is...

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...