I'm finally back home and somewhat rested up from the Atlantic Coast Blacksmiths Conference at Ashokan, NY. What a truly great conference!

The featured demonstrators, Mark Aspery, Peter Ross and David Norrie were all very good, with different styles and deliveries, providing something to suit almost anyone. Mark Aspery's style of teaching seemed to suit my style of learning particularly well, as he focused on explaining the "why" of things rather than just the "how." I would love to spend some time taking instruction from him. I did pick up a copy of his book, "The Skills of A Blacksmith, Volume 1", and from what I have read so far it is a really excellent teaching tool for the beginning blacksmith and a great reference for the professional as well. I'm sure you'll all see me quoting from it in the future.

My own little mini-demo was apparently well-received, and several people commented that it had opened their eyes to new possibilities for tooling and techniques. I certainly had a good time delivering it and was frankly astonished at the number of people in the audience. The rain pelting down from TS Hanna may have had something to do with that, as my demo was under the pavilion roof where all were dry and comfy. (grin)

I got the opportunity to meet and chat with Rob Sigafoos, which was a real treat. Unfortunately, the rain forced Rob to scoot out early and he had to miss my demo, but I gave him a quick overview of it at the tailgate of the truck and a copy of my handout notes. Rob is talented enough that he'll be able to run with the stuff and come up with new ideas for it, I'm quite sure.

My wife Sally was a bit anxious about me being away during the peak of hurricane season, but she had no issues with storms while I was away. I, on the other hand, traveled a few thousand miles north to get dumped on by Tropical Storm Hanna! There's a certain poetic justice in that, I suppose. Still, it wasn't that bad and didn't cause any real problems at the conference. All in all, this was one of the best conferences I've ever attended. The event was a definite success and will surely become a regular event from what I have heard from the organizers. I highly recommend attending it if you have the opportunity.

After some wrestling with my somewhat atrophied conscience, I finally caved in and made reservations to attend the Southern Ohio Forge and Anvil "QuadStates 2008" conference in Troy, Ohio on the 26th, 27th, and 28th of September. I just couldn't bring myself to miss it, as it has been my mainstay for contact with other smiths for the past several years and I have many friends I see only there. Of course, Sally has stated emphatically that if there should be a storm while I'm away I'll never again be allowed to leave during September as long as I live, (which won't be too long as she'll kill me anyway.) I can live with that. (grin) If any of you are in the area, I highly recommend QuadStates as a meet worth attending. They always have several great demonstrators as well as vendors, tailgate sales, social activities and more. You can find out more at www.sofasounds.com if you're interested.