The goal of the Ashokan Sword Seminars is to gain an understanding of the sword. Not just a specific sword from a particular time or culture but swords from all over the world and throughout time.
As with the study of any tool the focus needs to be on how the tool was made and how the tool was used. Unfortunately swords are tools which, for the most part, are obsolete and this complicates the study and causes it to be prone to many misinterpretations and misconceptions. Therefore the study of the sword must be multi disciplined and multifacted and every bit of information must be utilized and subjected to rigorous analysis and testing.
Available sources of information include the swords themselves, we have the artifacts to study, as well as any literature documenting their making and use. To this we must bring our current knowledge of mining, iron/steel smelting and metallurgy to better interpret this information and give us some insight and understanding of the construction and performance charactersistics of these unique tools. The study of the artifacts and literature is usually the focus of academicians- archeologists, historians and metallurgists are necessary to clarify these aspects of the study of the sword. We also need the input of craftsmen, skilled artisans who can, through study, reconstruction and experimentation, create the steel by smelting and crucible melting, forge blades and produce finished weapons utilizing techniques not all that different from those used on the orginal artifacts. Finally we need the input of the marital artists who train in the use of the sword and who provide the final test on the accuracty and completeness of our understanding of this subject, for only in use can any tool be judged. After all, it is the effect of the cut or thrust which defines the quality of the tool, not the tool itself.
A quick look at the program of the seminar will reveal that a multi disciplined investigation of the sword will be presented bringing together specialists from a variety of related fields. Techniques for making swords will be discussed and demonstrated, martial arts from three different cultures will be presented and there will be a variety of swords from different cultures and times on hand to examine. This is a unique event that should not be missed by any serious student of the sword and is guaranteed to increase your knowledge and appreciation of this ancient weapon.
Friday, September 16th 6:00
- 7:00 pm Dinner 7:00
- 7:30 Introduction
Dan Maragni7:30
- 8:30 Blade Patterns Intrinsic to Steel Edged Weapons
Lee Jones8:30
- 9:30 Chinese Swords
Scott M. RodellSaturday. September 17th 8:00
- 9:00 am Breakfast 9:00
- 10:00 Bloomery Smelting
Michael McCarthy10:00
- 11:00 Chinese Sword Techniques
Scott M. Rodell11:00
- 12:00 Bloom Smithing
Michael McCarthy12:00
- 1:00 Crucible Steel
Ric Furrer1:00
- 2:00 Lunch 2:00
- 3:00 European Longsword Techniques
John Clements3:00
- 4:00 Laminations/Pattern Welding
Kevin Cashen4:00
- 5:00 Tamashigiri
Tom Walter and Jens Luckman5:00
- 6:00 The History of Crucible Steel
Ann Feuerbach, Ph.D.6:00
- 7:00 Dinner 7:00
- 8:00 High Tech Salt Pot Heat Treatment
Tim Zowada8:00
- 9:00 Crucible Steel Forging
Ric Furrer9:00
- 10:00 Low Tech Heat Treatment
Phillip Baldwin10:00
- ??? Open Forge Sunday, September 18th 8:00
- 9:00 am Breakfast 9:00
- 10:00 Medieval Sword Reconstruction
Dan Maragni10:00
- 11:00 Rapier Techniques
John Clements11:00
- 12:30 Knife/Sword Display and Show 12:30
- 1:30 Lunch Featured Demonstrators Phillip Baldwin was born and spent his formative years in Northport, NY near NYC. He is a second generation craftsman, starting work in hot forged steel in 1967. During the next ten years he slowly learned the basic techniques of ironwork, and attemped to decode the Japanese sword with Dan Maragni. In 1977 he entered the graduate metalsmithing program at Southern Illinois University, graduating with an MFA degree in 1979. Upon leaving SIU, he was a resident artist for two years at the Oregon School of Arts and Crafts in Portland. In 1983 he formed Shining Wave Metals, a firm engaged in the commercial manufacture of exotic metals, such a pattern welded steel and mokume-gane for the art metal field. Phillip's work cover many areas, from tools to architectural metalwork. He maintains a studio and lives near Snohomish, Washington. His exhibition record dates from 1976 with works at the American Craft Museum, NYC, the V&A in London, the Sterling Silver Design Competition, Young Americans Metal, National Ornamental Metals Museum, Design in America, a US Information Agency show that toured Eastern Europe and many others. Phillip has taught at Penland, Haystack, The Appalachian School, Peter's Valley, Cranbrook Academy of Art and the University of Washington. He is a recipient of the 2004 Innovation Award from the Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers Association for his work in mokume-gane manufacturing technology. Phillip's work has been featured in Metalsmith Magazine, American Jewelry Manufacturer, Smithsonian, American Craft Magazine, The Anvil's Ring and several books including one in the Italian language. He notes that after more than 30 years of research and production things are coming together and the process is accelerating. Phillip says it a great gift to be a part of an active a stimulating field such as the visual arts. "The people are the best part".
Kevin R. Cashen: Making blades his entire life, Kevin R. Cashen sold his first knife in 1985. In a mere four years after joining the American Bladesmith Society, he quickly rose through the ranks to become a Master Bladesmith in 1995. Always willing to share his knowledge, he also travels the country teaching and lecturing at locations ranging from local demonstrations to major universities. Over the years he has come to specialize in European swords and daggers ranging from the Bronze Age to the Renaissance, with heavy use of damascus steel and pattern welding.John Clements: Having pursued the craft since 1980, John Clements is one of the world's foremost authorities on Medieval and Renaissance fencing skills. A leader in historical fencing studies, he has researched the subject in ten countries and taught in eight. Clements is the director of ARMA, the Association for Renaissance Martial Arts (www.thearma.org), a leading force in the exploration of historical European fighting systems, and works full-time teaching and writing on the subject. He is the author of the groundbreaking, Renaissance Swordsmanship, and Medieval Swordsmanship, from Paladin Press. His forthcoming titles are Historical Fencing 1300-1650 and Swords of the Renaissance.
Ann Feuerbach. PhD has a broad academic background including degrees in art history, anthropology, archaeological conservation, and archaeometallurgy. She has also taken additional courses including geology, metallurgy, grant writing, textile conservation, ancient jewelery, and museum quality replica production. Dr. Feuerbach's doctorate, from University College London, Institute of Archaeology, was on the history and production of crucible steel in Central Asia. Her websites are www.aasti.us and moltenmuse.home.att.net.
Lee Jones has studied a wide diversity of ethnographic arms for over three decades with a special interest in European medieval swords, particularly those of the Viking Age, and in the many manifestations of pattern-welding across numerous cultures and centuries. Lee has prepared a website on these topics and authored sections of the recently published Swords of the Viking Age.
Michael McCarthy, the son of a sheet metal worker and fabricator, has long been interested in making objects out of metal. His first exposure to smithing at, age twelve, was with a family friend who is a farrier. While in High School, he built a forge and worked with friends. Upon graduation in 1992, he toured the country and studied with several metal artists. In 1996, he returned home and opened his own forge in Penn Yan, NY. His focus was primarily art, until 1999, when he began an apprenticeship with Paul Spaulding at The Farmers Museum. His exposure to the work and period of interpretation at the museum shifted his focus to pre-industrial methods of forging. After three years of apprenticeship Michael was chosen by Paul to run the shop at the museum. In 2003 he relocated his own shop to a building in Ames NY, where he works during the winter months, while the museum is closed. Michael's current focus is on iron smelting and the tools and hardware of pre-industrial America, although he still produces contemporary items in both metal and wood. He has demonstrated at several national and international conferences, and was the organizer and producer of the first Early Iron Symposium. Early Iron was an international symposium devoted to the art of making iron and steel from ore.
Dan Maragni started forging blades in 1974 with Phillip Baldwin using Phill's backyard coal burning forge and continues to experiment with different alloys, heat treatments and blade designs. A voting member of the Knifemakers Guild and an ABS Mastersmith from 1983 - 2003, taught bladesmithing classes at Brookfield Craft Center, Penland School of Crafts and Peter's Valley Crafts, lectured/demonstrated at the 1990 and 1992 ABANA Conferences and organized and participated in the NEBG Ashokan Seminars from 1983 - 1995. Currently he works as a technical consultant to the cutlery industry and head of domestic production for Cold Steel Inc. where he developed the Carbon V material and heat treatment and continues to organize the Sword Ashokan Seminars which are held every five years.
Scott M. Rodell, author of Chinese Swordsmanship - the Yang Family Taiji Jian Tradition and Taiji Notebook for Martial Artists, began his life long study of martial arts at the age of nine. For the last 25 years Rodell has devoted himself to Yang Family Taijiquan, seeking out the last of the old masters, he has worked to preserve the martial aspects of this system that were in danger of being lost. As director of the Great River Taoist Center (headquartered in Washington, DC- www.grtc.org) he has taught Taijiquan in America and Europe for over 20 years. He is particularly well known for having fathered Taijiquan in former Soviet countries and was awarded Honored Judge status by the Russian Wushu Federation. Today Rodell is recognized as one of the major exponents of Taijiquan as a martial art and is an Internationally recognized teacher of Chinese historical swordsmanship.
Registration Details The all-inclusive seminar registration fee is $225
which includes the programs, meals and bunkhouse-style lodging.Downloadable pdf registration form Downloadable pdf directions to the Ashokan Field Campus If you are flying to the seminar, Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, NY or Albany International Airport in Albany, NY will likely be the most convenient.
For more information and registration details
contact the Ashokan Field Campus office at (845) 657-8333
or write c/o Ashokan Field Campus; 477 Beaverkill; Olivebridge, NY 12461Legalese Campus Safety: Please be aware that eye protection will be required in all demonstration areas. Bring your own eye protection or be prepared to purchase safety glasses on site for a nominal fee. As metalworking is a potentially dangerous activity all participants must agree to wear eye protection while observing or participating in any of the demonstration areas. Participants must also adhere to any safety instructions from the staff or demonstrators.
Disclaimer: Participants must agree to hold harmless the New England Bladesmiths Guild, the Ashokan Field Campus, Campus Auxiliary Services, Inc. of the State University of New York at New Paltz and the demonstrator(s) in the event of personal injury.
Video and Audio Recording: Participants are not permitted to record the demonstrations.