BLINKPIX PHOTOGRAPHY
  • Home
  • Galleries
    • headshots / portraits
    • graduations / engagements
    • street candids / street portraits
    • Stories Of Easton, PA
  • Testimonials
  • Session Locations
  • About Me
  • contact

Ed Land: Blacksmith

1/23/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Blacksmith Ed Land explains how he became a blacksmith as his avocation, and how you can as well, under his guidance:

"I was the president of a heritage society, and we had a three car, four car garage shed on the property, and one of the guys said, 'Can I store an anvil and forge in there?" I said, 'Sure, Bob, put 'em in there.' Well, overnight, we had four forges and eight anvils and all the stuff that went with it. I said, 'Let's fire it up for the fall event!' He says, 'You better talk to the park district.' I said, 'You tell the park district you have a three thousand degree open flame fire in their lousy little wood building and the answer's gonna be *no*' So I said, 'Let's ask for forgiveness.' So we started it; every kid from 10 to 16 wanted a piece of the action. We made it so they could hammer with it and they'd walk out with a hook they made at the end of a struggle. And they were delighted with it."
"So where are you doing this now?"
"We're doing it in Historic Bethlehem, 1750's Smithy Shoppe. We introduce you to hot metal, how to move it, what you can do with it in a three hour class. I usually start them with the small hooks, it gives you several elements of design: it's the scroll, it's the bottom of the hook, the twist, and then the flame at the top and punching holes.  So there's about four or five elements involved in making that process come together. For a novice that's an hours worth of work. For myself, about ten minutes. Maybe. If you got young men you can go on and do what I call a cheese knife--what they call a shiv (laughs)--depends on your class." 

For more information, you can contact him at [email protected] or visit http://historicbethlehem.org/programs/blacksmithing-101/

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    ​I photographed the people of Easton, PA as well as documented their stories for a little over four years, between 2014 and 2018.

    ​Click below to check out their images and what they had to say.

    Archives

    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Galleries
    • headshots / portraits
    • graduations / engagements
    • street candids / street portraits
    • Stories Of Easton, PA
  • Testimonials
  • Session Locations
  • About Me
  • contact