This guy is a super great guy,,,he welcomed us into his shop,, we go in and he already has the forge fired up he had a few items he's made lying on the table ,,,knifes, wall coat hangers, fireplace tool set, ,,,he started working as he explained everything from coal choices, temps, tools ,,,,this guy was a great teacher ,,,I felt very rewarded and learned alot ,,,,the project of the day was a knife made from a railroad spike ,,we were shooting lots of pics
I had one shot in mind that I really wanted bad,,, it was a darkened room with his face lit up and sparks flying off the metal as he struck it with his hammer,,and the forge glowing orange flames in the background,,,,I got my shot,,,when he was almost done with the knife I decided I had to have it,,so I bought it
we left there went and had lunch while he hardened the knife in a oven,,,I had a few conversations with people who said we needed to try the Burger Barge ,,,we headed there,,,,we all got something that resembled a horseshoe ,,called a Anchor ,,,long story ,,but I like horseshoes better
we go back pick up my knife shot some more pics at his place on the Illinois River then headed up the road along the river ,,,we hit several little Towns including Rome,, Chilacothe ,, lacon,,and Henry ,,,It started to get late so we started heading back home,, We decided to make one last stop in Peoria for some more nightscape photo's
I'd like to Thank Bud once more for such a rewarding trip,,check out his website and buy something from him
http://www.hotironblacksmith.com/
all photo's here and many more are available to be purchased as prints at
http://trevormillerbigred.smugmug.com/
