Hot Iron Muster 2006

A journey along the “Road to Damascus” started in Logan Village QLD for participants in Hot Iron Muster 2006.  The focus of this year’s event was Pattern Welding, the age-old art originally used in forging swords, knives and spears.  It is thought that weapons displaying intricate patterns started to spread to Europe from the East through the city of Damascus, the centre of the trade routes around the time of the Crusades.  Now commonly referred to as “Damascus steel”, patterned metal is still enormously popular for making blades, cutlery, jewellery and decorative features.

Visiting instructor Brent Bailey from Orland, California USA first enthralled an Aussie audience with his effortless demonstrations of forging patterns during Hot Iron Muster 2003.  Having fielded many requests for more opportunity to learn these skills, event organizer Alan Ball was happy to again entice Brent out to Australia for a dedicated workshop.  Since its inception in 2000, “The Muster” each year draws blacksmithing enthusiasts from all over the country to Alan’s smithy in Logan Village just outside Brisbane.  “Although there are many talented smiths in Australia, few opportunities exist to see them at work” Alan explains.  “Inviting international instructors who enjoy sharing ideas and different experiences gained in other countries adds diversity and depth to our own creative talents.” 

The opening Demonstration Day again attracted an audience from far and wide.  Visitors were able to see demonstration pieces and projects from previous events, and a lucky few were able to purchase some of Brent’s unique artwork or highly-sought range of tools.   The forging action warmed up with Brent taking 16mm round stock to hammer out a leaf, folding it in half to create a vein along the fold line before chiseling it open again to reveal the stylish result.  Next combining wrought iron from an old wagon wheel with industrial circular wood saw blade, he welded together a 9-layer billet which he then drew out to about an 8mm thick bar.  Folding over about a 20mm section, he welded that flat to the bar, then continued to fold sections over at 90 degrees only, welding after each fold.  This process soon produced a cube about 40mm.  A quick polish and etch revealed the pattern.  Sketching several possible scenarios, Brent illustrated how combining cubes in different arrangements could produce a variety of finished patterns. 

To demonstrate using a ‘rope twist’ as a decorative feature, Brent first made a handled swage tool to notch the bar and round the edges in one operation.  Taking 2 pieces of 6mm round tacked together side by side, he hammered them into the heated top and bottom plates to form a rounded ‘uu’.  He then demonstrated its effectiveness to form a smooth twist in 12mm round stock.

With hand tools being favourite projects for Brent, he then forged an adze, all the while giving invaluable tips in hammer control, how to rotate the item to ensure that it doesn’t lose shape and keeping holes straight while punching.   Relating his experiences in Zimbabwe and South Africa, he explained how he had made tools and equipment from the limited resources available – right down to simple but effective bellows.   

As a special memento of the event, Brent forged a cross peen hammer and along with his own touchmark, stamped it especially for the 2006 Muster.  It was offered to the audience at auction to finish off a great day of blacksmithing infotainment.  After some spirited bidding, it was knocked down to Rob Smith, a participant in the coming week’s workshop. 

After a day of watching Brent having all the fun at the forge, workshop participants were eager to get their own irons into the fire on Monday morning.   Brent had prepared a guide to selecting suitable materials, including readily-found steels, some possible combinations, the process of creating billets, and the all-important management of the forge.  Also containing photographs and illustrations of work-in-progress and finished patterns, it was to serve as a ready reference for the endeavours to come.

To ‘tune in’ to the welding process, the first project made use of steel cable.    Once heated, Brent recommended tightening the twisted strands.  This helped ensure a secure weld and the subsequent drawn-out bars revealed a closer pattern after etching.   Impatient to see a finished product, everyone proceeded to fashion their desired project, with a knives and bracelets being popular results.

Experimentation was very much the order of the week.   For light and dark contrast, supplies of mild steel, wrought iron, spring steel, 01 tool steel, plough disc and bandsaw blade were pre-cut for easy stacking.   Brent first demonstrated a simple twist pattern, starting with 9 layers of wrought iron and circular saw blade.   After 2 folds and welds, the resulting 36 layer stack was twisted and forged square again.   After being ground to reveal the pattern, Brent was able to show how cutting the billet in different profiles could produce totally different results.   He continued to forge this billet into a unique wood chisel.

Mild steel and old plough disc proved to be an interesting combination for a ‘zebra stripe’ pattern.  13 layers were drawn out to a flat bar approx 8mm x 32mm.  That was folded alternatively backwards and forwards on itself to form a 32mm square stack about 75mm high.  The stack was then forged solid and fashioned into a very stylish cross peen hammer head. 

Each participant selected his preferred materials and patterns, producing a great variety of billets that were then finished into knives, forks, bracelets, bowls, hammers and chisels.  The three power hammers and treadle hammer worked overtime throughout the energy-filled week.  The local supermarket experienced its biggest sales of borax in years, and a casual observer around the forges could be forgiven for thinking that Logan Village had experienced its first-ever snowfall!

Amongst all this hyper-activity, there were some rest breaks for more social pursuits.   Lunchtime provided an opportunity for a bit of ‘show-and-tell’ about the other interests of the group.  Sharka Bosakova displayed her talent for silver smithing with some fine contemporary-style jewellery.  Paul Martini raided his collection of black powder replica firearms to show us reproductions of an 1858 Enfield .577 calibre muzzle loader from the American Civil War period, and a Sharps 45-110 long-range rifle made famous by Tom Sellick in the movie “Quigley Down Under”.

An evening was also spent over a BBQ steak and a cold drink, and just to prevent any possibility of withdrawal symptoms setting in, entertainment was provided in the form of blacksmithing videos.  We were able to visit the USA to see the workshops of Ivan Bailey and Tom Joyce, and get some tips on power hammer techniques from Uri Hofi at the Big Blu Power Hammer School.

We also welcomed some overseas visitors during the week.  From Washington State in the USA, the publishers of the “Blacksmith’s Gazette”, Fred Holder and his wife took the opportunity to call in while on holiday in Australia.  As part of his marathon adventure to visit blacksmith shops all over the world, British visitor Ian Lowe also spent some time recording the activity for his travel logs. 

The end of the week came all too quickly for our band of enthusiastic blacksmiths.  The impressive array of items proudly gathered for display was a fitting reward for their untiring efforts and new-found creativity.  Brent’s expert guidance had de-mystified the art of pattern-welding, and laid the foundations for the development of this skill in new and eager hands.

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