Ironstein, Brian Morris, came by yesterday to my shop. I gave him some tool steel and we forged him a hammer out of 2" round 4140. We forged the hammer in about an hour, then while we waited for it to cool, another freind, Clinton Parkinson, struck and we forged another hammer out of 1 3/4" stock.

Brian ground his hammer then we hardened it. He finish ground it then we tempered it. After it cooled, we handled it. Now all he has to do is shape his handle to his liking.

I really enjoyed the day. I rarely get people coming by. It's nice to have a play day. Brian, my brother Ed, Clinton and his girlfriend Dora, and even Karen hung out in the shop.

Thanks for coming by Ironstein! Here are some pics of making the hammer. I didn't get any pics of the finished hammer. Maybe you could post some.

Thanks again Brian Brazeal! This is the most fun i've had in a really long time. I learned more in one day with Brian than in the last six months on my own. I have posted pictures of the finished hammer, all i need to do is work the handle to my liking. I feel honored to have been able to experience these techniques and learn from such an amazing individual. Truly an amazing teacher. I will definitely be meeting up with these wonderful people in the future. if Brian is gonna be in your area on his road trip, definitely go and take his hammer making class. i saw all of the tools Brian made for these classes, and they are beautifully forged. Don't miss out on the chance to forge a hammer with him, You would be hard pressed to find someone who forges these hammers with these techniques. What a great process for Brian to be sharing with the blacksmithing community. I was lucky to be in the company of Ed, Brians brother, and Karen, Brians wonderful wife, among other amazing people. How lucky i feel to have been in the company of such accomplished blacksmiths in Brian, and Ed. I just wish i had met them sooner, as they are leaving to go on the Brian Brazeal Roadtrip.



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Hey brian looks like i got some pretty good shots that photography class paid off

Thanks for the kind words Brian, and the plug! We'll be leaving here by the Sept. 10 with enough gas money to make it at least 1/2 way, so we'll need to be working to get the rest of the way. I don't think we'll have any problems. We have mostly weekend gigs, but we'd like to fill in the weekdays, also.

I really enjoyed the day also, and you did a great job of striking!
Nothing to it was there? It practically made itself. We just had to put it under the dies and hit it.

Hey brian looks like i got some pretty good shots that photography class paid off

Yeah, Clinton you did a great job. I had a tough time narrowing down my choices. We have alot more great shots. You should post some pictures of your hammer that are on your camera.

I'm glad to see you here on I Forge Iron!
And thanks for coming by!

Ya i will put up some pics as soon as i can
we had a rough trip home there was fire on pacheco pass so we had to back track and take a back road 6 1/2 hour trip

Wow, what a bummer. We were out in the shop until 10:00, so I probably got to unwind before you did.

ya it was quite a jouney we would like to get over to see you guys one more time before you hit the road. i am trying to figure out how to post theese pics

Hey Clinton, this is Karen. I don't know your camera program but with ours we choose the photos and resize them then put them in a designated folder outside the camera program so we can find them later to select when we browse. Hope that helps! :)

Very nice looking hammer, I would think that it would be really fun to be the striker and the student learning hands on is really fun!! I too hope to have Brian come and do a demo for the BFC. GREAT PICTURES!!!
Gaylan

It was a great learning experience to work with brian forging his hammer brian is a great teacher and he makes it seem so easy. it was a lot of work but very fun. i will add some more pics later my batt died

Brian,
I too would jump at the chance to come back and see you before you leave. I know you will be busy getting ready for your trip and finishing up your commissions, but if you get some time, whether it be an actual class, or a play day, just let me know. If you need any help packing and moving i would be happy to help too. It was amazing to bring home such an amazing piece, and to think i had a small part in making it! By the way, i would love it if you and Karen could e-mail those pictures of the hammer making to my email address if you get a chance. Thanks again.

Clinton,
Ed Brazeal got some great photos of you and brian making your hammer. Great pics of the punching process! You can see the oil flashing as you are hitting the tool. Sorry to hear you had a rough journey home. Hope the dogs were ok. I got your card so when i come up that way again i'll call you and maybe we can all go have dinner.

Ironstein, I'll be here. You're welcome to come by. I know you work during the week, so maybe we should plan on next weekend. I don't think I'll need help packing, so why don't we plan on forging, and I can probably dig up somemore material and such that you can take home. Karen will E-mail you somemore pics today.

Just a tip: I've moved to using Picasa for most of my photo maintenance. Free and very easy to use. Primarily designed to organize all the photos on your PC, it has enough editing support to handle most fix up needs too. They also have an online site to upload the photos to but I'm still using Flickr for that.

ironstein- those are some good shots and the dogs were fine just a bit hungry. I got to sleep for the ride home after we got on the alternate route dora did all the driving home slow but safe so its all good. it was nice to meet you and maybe we can do it again next week end hate to travel on holiday but its a 4 day week end for us so i could camp out
got to go do more sanding

Brian,
I will plan on being there saturday morning. I'll bring some stuff to bar-b-q. I have a three day weekend too. The drive up there isn't bad at all, i made it home in about two hours saturday. I am excited to do some more forging with you.
Clinton, I hope to see you there.

Hello guys,

Brian, what are the chances you'd be heading up to northern Alberta, Canada?

I see all the work you do, the comments from everyone and it is like I am missing out being way up here. Now thats not to say we don't have some teachers but hey, I like to learn from different people. Might have to look at a blacksmith tour one summer, just don't like the new border crossing rules.

Good Hammering to all the lucky people meeting up with Brian and Karen over the coming months. I look forward to the stories and pictures to come.

DennisG

DennisG,
It would definitely be worth your time to take a class from Brian Brazeal. I can't say enough about him. Great teacher, he truly loves to teach.

DennisG, I'd love to have the opportunity to come up to Alberta, Canada, but I'd have to have some work to do. I haven't had a vacation since I started blacksmithing, and I don't see the possibility of one in the near future. I have to work my way where ever I go.

Here are somemore pics of Ironstein's hammer being made.

Edited August 31, 200916 yr by brianbrazealblacksmith

Great Pictures, Looks to be alot of fun.Brian in picture #6 and #8 what is that hardy tool do and what does the inside look like?
Gaylan

It is just a round depression. It forges the rounded side of the rounding hammer. That is why we call them "forged to finish", because we forge the faces instead of sawing them off.

Great series of pics all round of a great day.

Beautiful new hammer Ironstein you lucky dog.

I really like the smiles around the vise, says it all.

Frosty

Thanks Frosty,
That hammer is my prized possession! I get to go back and forge with Brian again this weekend. I just wish i had met these amazing people sooner. Brian Brazeal is really a treat to be around, the way he teaches and talks about the techniques, and why, really translates. i'll hopefully have more pictures to post after the weekend.

This thread was a lot of fun to read and see.
Blacksmithing, hard work, a lot of fun and a bunch of great people!

Brian,
Somewhere I read that you're planning to be in NC. If so have you decided where it will be. It would be a privilege to meet you and Karen. Hope that it will so that I can. Would love to have one of those hammers!
Thanks for sharing all you guys do with us,
Billy