[Michael Pikula]

I have been going through a lot of rethinking and restructuring of the way that I am going to be proceeding forward in the future and wanted to announce some pretty minor changes, but none the less I'd be chewing on the bark of Oak trees for my daily dose of food if it wasn't for all the support from myArmoury members. (Is the bark of an oak tree even eatable?)

First off I am dropping the name Volund Forge, it is only going to be me, no apprentices or helpers so I figure sticking to my name sounds more trust worthy and true to what it is that I am doing.

Along the same line I am going to start using my other e-mail for communication purposes. The old address (VolundForge@hotmail.com) will still be active for sometime, collecting the wonders of spam mail, and will serve as a transition until I haven't received any messages for 5-6 months.

The website that I had up is down, I'm in the process of rethinking a new site, getting a new domain, all that good stuff. So until I get that up and running, myArmoury will be the best way of keeping tabs on what I working on or making.

While I'm hitting up some points, I would like to mention that my cost for basic, mono steel swords with simple fittings is $1200 and will go up from there depending on the specifics of your design. You will get a full sized drafted drawing of the outline and basic features prior to me firing up the forge to get going. Then I will keep you up to date with how progress is going and keep you in the loop as much as possible or as much as you would like. I often get caught up in the "Zone" as I am working so sometimes I miss taking pictures since I am more worried about the next step, but it does work out in your favor.

Yes, I do take paypal, nope, no extra 3% charge.

Thank you once again for all the support!
Michael Pikula

[Ben Potter]

Good to hear that you are staying with the forging at least for a while.
Best of luck,
Ben

[Jean Thibodeau]

Yeah the name change is probably a good idea as Volund Forge doesn't readily identify you as the maker and who to contact for a custom commission ? ( What does Volund mean by the way ..... maybe I'll Google the word to see if it's something I should know but somehow don't get the reference to. )

Oh, as to eating tree bark here is something useful to know: http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/edible-pine-bark/

As to oak trees couldn't find a definitive answer for humans, so I wouldn't try it.

EDITED: found out what Volund means.

[Michael B.]

The bark is edible in a life or death situation. It's much better as a tea. Strip off the inner bark, and boil for tea, it's been used for ages by native americans for medicinal purposes. . The acorns of course, when leached of the tannic acid are delightful nuts.