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RIP Grant Sarver


monstermetal

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Reading this has put a huge lump in my throat and a knot in my stomach.

Grant had helped me out with a couple of projects over the years and I only knew him by talking over the phone. I wish I could have met him in person.

Gods speed Grant and my prayers for the Sarver family.

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My condolences to his family.

Sadly I never met Grant but I hung on every word he wrote. This man was a goldmine of information and all he ever asked for giving it away was a chance to gently take the mickey, or display his unique sense of humour. As John N mentioned above, we obtained some induction heaters with SO much generous help from Grant. I use this machine a lot and everytime I use it I will remember him.

RIP Grant

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Grant Sarver
I was caught off guard and taken aback to the point of not believing what I had just read.
I had to go back over and re-read what had been said, and then carefully check the site to make sure it was the same person we all know!
I have finally accepted what I had read. But was curious about the great sense of loss I felt for a man who I have never met in person.
After pondering this thought for some time, I realized that it is said; you will know a good tree by the fruit it bears.

Grant bore good fruit of the blacksmith kind! Grant is (still is) one of several blacksmiths who are a foundation of knowledge that we depend on for council that supports this fine craft.

The reason I say “still is”: Grant is only a thought away!
Although we may not be able to correspond directly with Grant, we are able to receive the benefit of his knowledge through his writing, teaching, and wisdom that he imparted to others who will hopefully pass it down to others.

As you use tools that Grant made, let it remind you of quality and steadfastness of purpose. Then strive to equal or better the bar of excellence he has established. Bottom line; Please continue to “Pass It Down”. If WE do this, his efforts to raise the bar of excellence of the blacksmithing craft to a higher level will have not gone in vein.

Grants obvious strength of character and knowledge spoke for its self. Many times our work product will speak for us. Strive to make your work product say something nice and with quality.

To all of you who may read this, I give you my condolences because I know you care.
And to Grants family, I also give my condolences and prayer’s for your peace during this sudden transition.
Ted Throckmorton

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I was just recently reading about the patron saints of blacksmithing St Brigid, St. Alar, St Eligius....But one story struck me a bit odd, and is now making more sense.

St Dunstan, as the story goes,
Once pull'd the devil by the nose
With red-hot tongs, which made him roar,
That he was heard three miles or more.

I think St. Dunstan is quite happy with his new pair of OCP tongs

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Man .... I just had put it all together (Nakedanvil and OCP) and had watched all of Grant's stuff online and .... man I am floored on this one. I like many others read every post from Grant no matter the topic. I was just talking to my wife about him this morning and when I read this I had to get up an walk out of the room. I went and spoke with my wife who was reading a news letter and it had a quote from Mark Twain she had just read and read back to me.

- Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. -

I am sure Grant was on a boat like that and I also want to be able to say I was on a boat like that 20 years from now.

I am sure he will be missed by all and my condolences go out to his family. We should all make sure we reach out to our masters and learn all we can becuase we will never know when they will no longer be with us.

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I am so sad to hear this I never met him but I learned so much from him. I changed the way I make some of my tools from watching one of his videos. At least we still have his words and videos to remember him by. I will miss you Grant, my prayers go out to your family.

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I am very saddened by the news that Grant is gone. In a year and a half, I have posted very little here, mostly because I try to spend most of my time reading and learning from the really knowledgeable folks on IFI like Grant. This weekend when I light my forge, in his honor, I'll ring my anvil, smoke a good cigar, and reflect on some simple but inspiring advice that he gave. When another noob like me asked a question about where to find a tool, he replied "why don't you just make one?" For some reason, that simple answer from someone who made and sold tools, inspired me to make nearly every tool that I've needed since. Funny how something so basic left such a lasting impression, probably because it came from someone as knowledgeable as Grant Sarver. He will be sorely missed. May God bless him and my prayers are with his family.
- Jim

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Stunned. I was just on the phone with him a few weeks ago with questions on his induction forge, and using his tongs over the holiday weekend, admiring the little round boss on the end of the ring tongs................thinking what a craftsman he is to put in such a small little detail...........Your sage advice, and playful manner in which you gave it, will be missed by us all. THANK YOU GRANT and God speed.

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A lot of things in ouir lives are dependant on timing: We are in the right or wrong place at a critical time I did not know him except for his work on here. I read everything he posted. That was availeable for a lot of reasons. I suspect that ten years or so ago Grant would not have had the time to spend sharing wot he knew with us, At least in this venue. Bet he was getting his life and business in order and established to allow him that time to do just that. A lot of folks on here mention personal contact and I am a little jealous that I only had a printed glimpse of his knowledge. This site seems to happen at the right point in his life that he could indeed speak to more than we could imagine in the past. Timing...And that timing goes right back to his date of birth. I do not know all he did in his life but I do know part of what he learned and how a small part of it affected me. There are a lot of others on here that I rely on for information and I hope they know how valuable they are to all of us. We have lost several key folks on here over the years and I miss each of them. Each and every day I appreciate wot they gave and what they meant to us. Now the timing of this loss will not take away any of our memories. Our time for learning from them all is not over. Fortunately a lot of Grants work is captured and will be here for others not even into our craft as of yet.

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Well crap, this isn't the way I wanted to start the new year.

In this new era of social networking on the internet we end up making friends with folks that in most cases we will never meet in person. Even so, when something like this happens it still hits hard, even though we may have never met in person. We on IFI are part of a new age community made up of members around the world. Lucky for us, because the knowledge that Grant had of smithing was easily dispensed globally. In the not so distant past his knowledge would have been dispensed only fairly close to where he had lived. Through his posts on here, other sites, and videos his knowledge will continues to teach smiths around the world. He will be missed.

And for a smith , wouldn't Rust in Peace be more fitting?

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