Yes, It is the season for armor making. But I can’t just start right at it. I need some specialized tools. The first of which is called a planishing stake. I call this one a planishing ball. It is an Iron Shotput welded to a bar. It is used to shape plates of steel. Stick with me. Armor coming this summer. Here it is, mounted on the anvil.
I have been itching all winter to get back out to the forge and do some smithing. Finally the weather is decent enough. Its been a long long winter. Last weekend I cranked up the forge and just tinkered around a little. Did a tutorial on the pritchel hole in the anvil. Lots more blacksmithing coming.
I got an email from a gentleman (Asim) who got a hold of some rare 64 year old mead. Still bottled and intact.
It is from a meadery that was in existence for only about five years in the 1940′s. It’s called Guval.
Well, he asked me for some help in ascertaining them and appraising them. I don’t have a clue as to their value, if any.
So, maybe you know a little bit about mead or the history of this mead. There are three bottles: A Sack Metheglin, A Hippocras, and a regular Mead. I have more pictures on my website so you can get a good look at them and the labels. And hey – if you can offer any advice I have a link there so you can email me!!!
Here is the webpage with the pictures: Guval Mead
Couple of weekends ago I had to go to New York for a business meeting. I had a wonderful time. And somebody had told me that while I was in NY I should take a trip to the cloisters. I had never heard of it but was so glad that I did go. It is a branch of the NY MET, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is separate building located in north Manhattan. It was built in the 1930′s to look like a European Medieval Abbey. And it is actually built from the parts of five different abbeys in Europe. The parts were disassembled, shipped here and then rebuilt. Pretty amazing story.
And the place stays very true to that idea and theme because it is full of wonderful and amazing medieval treasures. Including an authentic medieval period garden. They actually researched manuscripts from the time period to get the right plants. I love that.
For me it was a bit of an adventure to get to it because I had taken a bus into new york. I planned an extra day for the cloisters so on that extra day I took the subway all the way up north to the closest stop. Then I walked maybe half a mile through the grounds of Fort Tryon to get there.
The security guard advised me that I was a half hour before opening so I would have to wait. I found it a wonderful little feeling when I sat on a stone bench in the shadow of the cloisters and pulled out my tattered copy of Pillars of the Earth.
Well, anyway, if you are a fan of all things medieval and you ever take a trip to NY then I highly recommend you plan a day for the Cloisters. Its simply wonderful.
I am an amateur Blacksmith. If you follow this blog you sure know that already. I have a lot of projects I would absolutely love to do. And among these projects is to make a real steel version of an iconic weapon from a movie. Maybe Conan’s sword or Bilbo’s sword or … well you get the idea.
Well, while these things are on my list there is blacksmith who is the real deal when it comes to these movie weapons. His name is Tony Swatton. And he has a new show called “Man at Arms”. The show follows him as he recreates iconic weaponry. It premieres this week and the task at hand will be for him to make the Jaime Lannister sword from Game of Thrones. Wow! That is a great sword. And this seems to be a really neat idea for a show.
The show is produced by Break Media and you can watch on their newest youtube channel right here: AWEME
There is a spectacular video you can watch. It introduces you to Tony and shows him working on the Lannister sword. This is a fantastic video and you can watch it on my website right here: Man at Arms
About AWEme: AWE me showcases the amazing feats, wow moments, and fascinating phenomena from the world around us. From watching a modern-day blacksmith forge a weapon, to seeing a team descend into a volcano, to watching an explosive chemical reaction in slow-motion, AWE me celebrates that feeling of curiosity and astonishment you have when you just can’t look away.
They are currently filming a whole bunch of interesting stuff and here is one of the crew testing out a sword on a gumball machine!
Seems to be this is going to be a really interesting show.
