[P Ballou]

I am thinking of signing up for some blacksmithing classes at a "fire arts" school in Oakland, CA. It is called The Crucible, maybe you have heard of it. Anyway, the classes are kind of expensive, so I thought I would get a preview by watching "The Birth of a Sword" DVD, available from Amazon.com. But it is kind of pricey too, at $40. Can anyone who has seen this DVD make a recommendation one way or the other? Thanks!

http://www.myArmoury.com/books/item.php?ASIN=B0008ELMFA

Phil

[Chad Arnow]

I haven't seen this, and actually hadn't heard of it until now. In looking at Amazon's listing, though, the smith is one of the smiths at ArmArt. The listed director (Pavel Neumann) is the guy who takes all their orders and serves as their public face.

For those not familiar with ArmArt, they are a Czech firm. I have one of their swords: http://www.myArmoury.com/chad_swor_arm_s4.html . ArmArt came onto the US scene some years back as nicely-priced hand-forged custom weapons. They formed a partnership with Swordforum. The partnership was a disaster as ArmArt seemed to be unable to handle the influx of orders from SFI customers. Orders quickly became delayed. Some have never been filled after several years even though they have been paid for. I was one of the lucky ones, since i got my order and it was only a few months late.

That aside, I do think ArmArt can make nice products. Richard Kazda, the smith in the video, seems to make much of their high-end stuff and some of the items he's made that are in their fully custom gallery look exquisite. I think he does really nice work, so I'd imagine the video could be interesting.

[Nathan Robinson]

[P Ballou]

I've gone ahead and ordered the DVD. We'll see.

I stopped by The Crucible last week to see what it was like. Although it is in a vaguely disconcerting neighborhood, the facility itself is actually very nice. They moved there recently, I think a year or two ago, and at least the parts I saw, the reception and lounge areas, were very inviting. Also, the folks there were very friendly. It seems like a fun place to learn and work.

They are having an art sale and open house this weekend, Dec. 16-17, 10-4. http://www.thecrucible.org/

If I decide to go ahead with it, it will probably be this January, in which case I'll report back my experience to the forum.

I'll let you know, Nathan. Thanks for your interest.

Phil