Thanks to Ted Guimond of South Haven, Mi for a blacksmithing lesson at the Michigan Flywheeler's Museum swap meet and hammer-in event in South Haven, Michigan over the weekend. I crossed the state to observe and maybe shop, only to find that the visitors were way down on Friday from early rain. Fortunately for me I had brought my safety equipment just-in-case because Ted offered to have me come into the booth and go over some basics. After covering shop safety, communication, the forge, fire tending, hot metal etc We took some round stock, had me flatten, taper, and then re-round each end. One end got the scrolled handle, then center got squared and twisted, and the other end got a offset hook. A steak flipper My first real object! This went much, much better than my first attempt at home the night before, where even getting the fire started was a challenge. What was to be a bottle opener ended up a kind of oddly bent twisted mess. it was worth the trip across the state, plus the area is beautiful. I wish I could have made Saturday. The weather forecast was much better, but my schedule wasn't. There would have been more smiths there, and more people in general. Thanks Ted!