Saltfork Craftsmen Fall Conference...

This past weekend highlights one of my favorite weekends of the year. It is a weekend that motivates me when I have gotten lazy. It pushes me to be creative. It also puts a check on my assumed skills and punches me with the reality that I am not as skilled as I would like to be. I'm talking about the Blacksmithing conference put on by the Saltfork Craftsmen.
Once a year on a fall weather weekend a hardy group of people gather on the plains of Oklahoma. The forges are lit and the smell of burning coal saturates the area. The ringing of the anvils brings a precise, even, ring to the ears of the attentive passerby. Spare tools and various sundry items related to the art of smithing are piled in the beds of the trucks and loaded on the trailers to gather for tailgate sales to those seeking deals or looking for a hard to find item. Some years a lot of equipment is offered, other years not a lot of anything shows up. This was the year of not a lot of anything.
The gathering of people varies from children to old timers and every age in between. There are hobbyists and blacksmith business men. The array of characters is quite interesting. Cowboys, farmers, artists, boy scouts and troop leaders, business owners and people just simply interested in learning. There are a few women in the audience and more women in the broom making classes and several other craft classes offered outside the blacksmithing arena. The individuals are all unique as most humans are. One gentleman owns an old foundry on the north side of Guthrie, Oklahoma. He has gathered all kinds of machinery and tooling in his buildings. He also refurbishes Model T's. His museum is only open when he's there which is usually in the afternoon. He really enjoys company. Last time I was at his shop I would wander around for a while then sit and visit for a while. I highly recommend a visit. Another gentleman was from Alaska. He demonstrated the craft of blacksmithing at the Renaissance fairs in the states. He is a regular at the big "R"fair in Norman, Oklahoma in the spring and residences at the Castle of Muskogee during the Renaissance fair which last for a month or so. The October conference usually means its time for him to wander back home. A lot of people commit a lot of time and energy to making a successful conference, hats off to the core group of individuals pouring so much into entertaining the rest of us.

The biggest attraction has always been the demonstrators. The skill level of the demonstrators has been such that all are of national recognition in the blacksmith circles. In the six years I have attended I have yet to be disappointed. I can't remember all their names but names like Tal Harris, the Brazeal brothers, Frank Turley, Bob Patrick, Lucian Avery, and quite a few other reputable Smithing artists. This years demonstrators were Bob Patrick and Lucian Avery. There is quite a bit of information on the Saltfork Craftsmen website www.saltforkcraftsmen.org about both artists. Mr. Patrick is well known for his ability to forge weld, an art that most blacksmiths try but never master. Mr Avery's main interest appeared to be Early American door hardware. Both men are masters at the craft. Learn more about Lucian Avery at www.lucianaveryblacksmith.com and more about Bob Patrick at www.ahilltopforge.com.
Saturday began with a nice cool morning without a cloud in the sky. Nice opportunity to ride the Harley to Perry Oklahoma Fairgrounds. Travelling the back roads of Oklahoma from Oologah to Perry spans a time of about two hours. There were no major traffic issues in spite of the fans travelling to a home game at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. After paying the conference fee I met up with a friend, his wife and a blacksmith out of Oklahoma City. We decided to go to Braums for lunch. After lunch we headed back to the conference. I spent a while watching Mr. Patrick perform forge welds with ease. Mental Note: He made it look so easy I think I could do it as soon as I get home and it would work every time... Forge welding involves heating metal in the forge, pulling it out coating it with flux then placing it back in the fire. Flux is usually a Borax based mix that shields the metal from being coated with oxygen and allows the metal to bond to the other metal. After heating the two pieces of metal with the flux coating the pieces are brought out of the fire, placed on the anvil and hammered together. IF successful the pieces bond as one. Mr Patrick is definitely a master at this process.
Moving to the demonstration area of Lucian Avery yielded a different style of smithing. Mr. Avery made a door pull with a thumb latch. Extremely interesting presentation. His attention to detail is something to aspire to. As a demonstrator his ability to keep the crowds attention is first class. He sketches his tasks on the white board before starting. He answers questions until he sure the answers are understood. He began smithing at the age of 20 and is now 40 years old. His expressions and desire to learn still put a gleam in his eye that is quite contagious to the audience. Most of the observers had sketch books out and were taking notes trying to capture every word. I must admit his skills and communication abilities have me searching for one of his classes.
I hated to leave early but riding the motorcycle after dark at this time of year often means an encounter with a  deer or two, an encounter not favorable to the bike rider. So I left a little after 4:00pm. It was a nice ride to the house, very similar to the ride out in the morning. It was a very good day.
A little added note, my friend Richard Dyer owns Dyers antique forge in Tulsa. He is the grandson of Ernest Wiemann. His grandfather owned the premier ornamental iron shop in this part of the country. Richard has been a blacksmith since the early seventies. I have worked Fridays in Richards shop as a volunteer in trade for the acquisition of some of his expert advice. My job took away my free Fridays two years ago so I have missed working in his shop. At the conference Richard got a formal invite to be a demonstrator at one of the large conferences in the country next May. I am looking forward to offering my help in his effort. I actually met him asking him to teach me some blacksmithing skills and ended up making a good friend. If you know me you know cold calling is not one of my character traits. This one paid off.
Enjoy your journey!