One of the most popular aspects of our demos (aside from the fire and Jeff forging!) is a child-sized anvil that we put outside the ropes for folks to use. We equip it with aluminum (which will bend and shape without needed to be heated), lightweight hammers,and tongs.
We got the idea because our youngest son works on metal this way while Jeff is in the forge and it suddenly dawned on us that others would also appreciate it.
Having the small anvil outside the ropes has added a whole dimension to our teaching capability. While people love to watch blacksmithing, the entire experience becomes much more real when they actually hold metal with tongs and hammer on it.
And, it’s not just kids who appreciate the tactile experience!
Sometimes, people hammer away for a bit and then return later on to work on a piece again….or they bring someone else over to let them experience the process.
In fact, with seven weekends of demos coming up, we need to get a decent supply of aluminum!
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