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As if running the Summit wasn't enough work, Jim Owens also presented a research paper on blacksmithing, most of which was delivered off the cuff. He covered the history of metalworking, reduction, the process of making and working various metals and their alloys, and how (and why) much of metalworking had long been considered something magical rather than a science. Just as Jim was wrapping up his talk, there was a knock at the cabin door. Jim had arranged to have Nicholas Marcelja, a working blacksmith from his RedTroll Forge in nearby Vancouver Washington, come and perform a demonstration of basic metalworking. We helped Nicholas set up his portable forge in the driveway and settled down to listen to what he had to say. For two hours, Nicholas regaled us with the scientific principles of metalwork, plus a number of anecdotes both personal and historical. He fielded all the questions we could fire at him, and then he turned the forge over to us. We were all offered the opportunity, and several writers, including our host Jim, as you see in this picture, stepped up to pound on some steel between hammer and anvil. It was a great reinforcement of what we'd learned in Jim's white paper presentation, and an excellent opportunity to gain some first-hand experience for use in future stories. | |
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