Forging Togetherness

In searching for interesting educational opportunities to round out Graysen's high school electives, I discovered it is possible to book weekend blacksmithing classes! Buck is a huge fan of the tv show Forged in Fire--we are pretty much armchair metal-working experts at this point. But why just watch when they could learn? So, we found a class time that worked for Buck, Brennen, Graysen, and Chase (wishing Noah could have joined the adventure, too) and waited for the weeks to tick past. Although Brennen ended up feeling a bit under-the-weather when the forging weekend finally arrived, all four guys were excited to acquire a super cool new skill set!

I'll post all the pictures together, but they gained 16-plus hours of instruction over the course of two days learning to heat, hammer, bend, shape, twist, leaf, quench, punch, and drill the metal. The instructor said Graysen and Chase had natural talent; Buck agreed and said they tended to finish the steps a bit quicker and more intuitively. In addition to the basic blacksmithing skills, our guys learned that duct tape prevents blisters from hammering with heavy tools for long portions of the day and also covers burns (which happen around hot stuff no matter how careful one is). Two more uses for that wonderous silver invention :) My dad would be proud! I think he would have enjoyed smithing with the boys, too.

The instructor marveled at how well these guys got along, how focused they stayed (instead of quitting and looking at their phones like a lot of teens who take his classes do), and how special it was for Buck to get to spend the weekend with his sons doing something like this together. Pretty awesome experience! And now we have a bunch of cool new garden hooks and wood pokers (which will be super handy for Chase and Gabby's woodburning stove this winter). I'm so glad they took this time together and that they enjoyed it. Some skills should never be forgotten💗