Full Blast

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...

Jimmy Diresta is back and we had a great time talking about holiday childhood memories, how to capture your ideas and will there be a second season to the Emmy award winning Netflix series “Making Fun”. Lots of behind the scenes and what it takes to get a TV show rolling. Jimmy rules and is always super forthcoming and candid about his life. Many thanks to Jimmy as always and I look forward to wha...

It’s Christmas time and who better to talk food and family than the great Fingal Ferguson. The family farm- Gubbeen is cranking out ham’s and cured meats for the holidays and we talked about what goes into the rush. We talked a lot about food and the science behind curing, brining and developing flavor. We discussed the meaning of life being grateful for the wisdom of age, took care of some weird...

Ben Kamon is an incredible Bladesmith and is back for another episode. When it comes to well thought out designs and execution Ben is in rarified air. We had a great time catching u, talking about our experiences in metalshops, how they influenced our work today, social media and how it gets a bad rap, Plus Austrian cooking! We also covered a little weird Austrian News and cleared up the legality...

My friend Julia Sexton is back and I’m glad. She is an incredible food writer and Editor in Chief of Edible Manhattan, Edible Brooklyn. Edible Hudson Valley and Edible Westchester. Dedicated to food writing and the restaurant biz Julia is the last of a dying breed. TikTok food reviews and social media influencers are the new delivery system for the masses to find out where to go out for something...

As a young boy alone, listening to the radio I used to love the episodes when radio hosts would go on holiday vacation and have a fill in. So I started having my two friends Ben Snure and Jonathan Porter on and we’d fool around for a Black Friday show. We should be having Thanksgiving with our families and were recording a podcast instead. Perfect. This is the 3rd year of this tradition and unfort...

I’m honored to talk to my great friend and podcasting partner on Knife Talk, Craig Lockwood about the debut of his new Single: “This Town”.  You are reading that correctly.. Knife Maker, podcaster and now Recording Artist…Craig is a man of many talents and had the bucket list opportunity to record at the legendary studio Rockfield; home to Queen, David Bowie, Ozzy Osborn, Oasis, Coldplay and many...

Jesse & Butch are 2 knife makers out of Pennsylvania who I’ve known for a while and gotten to hang out with at Makercamp. Part of a great group of makers around Philadelphia I wanted to some perspective on the end of the World Series with the Phillies as an incredible underdog story. After being counted out this season, the Phillies kept advancing in the post season past the Cardinals then the...

Vince and Ryan are the owners of Brodbeck Ironworks, one of the fastest growing Grinder companies around today. I met them both a few years ago and have been a fan of them and their company for a while. Both mechanical engineers and knife makers they met as competitors on the TV phenomenon “Forged in Fire” on similar paths. It was a fascinating conversation on who they are how they met and what ar...

Kev Slattery and I have been friends on Instagram when I first started making knives. A leader in  Austrailan bladesmithing , Kev has been a huge part of the kindness, supportive and generous nature this community exemplifies  while also and giving back by teaching and creating a very popular podcast with a cult following. We had a great catch up talking about our first meeting at Bladeshow,  Aust...

The Full Blast Podcast has a wide berth for conversation and interviews. Sometimes serious, thought provoking and insightful- then there are episodes like this one. Ben Snure is hilarious and that’s just what the doctor ordered. I always love catching up with Ben, telling stories and reading weird stories I find on the internet. The first half we talked about what’s going on in our lives and hit o...

 This past week I had the honor of once again of attending the Catskill Mountain Makers Camp in East Durham NY. Blacksmiths, woodworkers, artists and makers convene there for fellowship and general making. Tools, techniques and tricks galore with so many disciplines and things to see it can be over whelming. One of the highlights is that Photographer Mark Adams takes amazing portraits of all the a...