Final paper

Ryan Methven

Corby Leith

Senior Project

May 21, 2019

The  Forge

Looking back to the beginning of this project and its planning stage, I would’ve never thought I could do what I’ve done. My original plan was to create one sword, one shield, and one spear. I have tripled that. I have gained more skills and knowledge than I thought I could with the time I had left, and I also managed to have more fun than expected as well.

When I was still taking classes in the spring and I was planning out my senior project, my first choice was to go out west and work for a company called Outward Bound. This company mainly does studies on permaculture and wildlife. When I was on Mountain Classroom last spring, we did some work with them for a week, and I got really engaged with the work, as I was really intrigued about what they were doing. So when the senior project came around, I emailed the head of the company whom we met last spring, and I asked if I could come out and work for him again. It didn’t work out in the end, but I always had the forge as a backup plan. When I decided to work in the forge, I planned out to make one sword, spear, shield, and maybe other things if I had the time. However, after seeing my progress, I realized that I could double if not triple my previous estimate. Once I saw my momentum and ability to create artwork at a fast pace, I decided to make as much as possible with the time I had.

I tried making many different times of weapons. I didn’t want to make mass production of all the same thing; I wanted diversity between what I was making. I wanted to push myself on some projects and on others I wanted to see what I can do with the least amount of energy. Once I had spent enough time in the forge, I got the feel for the mail, and I understood it better and felt more comfortable working with the material. It isn’t as easy as you might think to work with hot steel. The thicker the piece of metal, the more time and energy you have to put into forming it and thinning it. For example, if you wanted to make a sword, you would have to take a piece of metal, heat it up until it’s bright orange, and decide what kind of shape you want. If you hit the wrong place just once again it changes the entire look of the sword. A metal hammer and an anvil are used to thin out the metal. The anvil as basically a second hammer, so there is an energy being brought down by you and there is energy being brought up by the anvil. Once you start thinning out the metal, it stretches and becomes longer and less dense. You have to take this into account when making plans for your sword, if you want your sword to be 3 feet long, you would cut the metal shorter than that because the metal would stretch out to the 3 feet and possibly further. The thicker the piece, the more length you will have, but the thicker the piece that longer and harder it will be for you to stretch out. For one of my swords, I picked out a half-inch by half-inch 2 foot long cubed bar steel end. It took me a good three hours to pound the steel to the thickness I wanted. It is very rough on your hands and forearms; my guess is that I’ve pounded on a piece of metal more than 2000 times over the course of this project. It is very hard and time-consuming, but was and is most definitely worth it.

I didn't just work in the forge. I studied why they made their weapons the way they did and also I also studied how Spartans live and how they fought back in that time period. I learned how they became great warriors and how they were able to become citizens of their nation. Spartan boys were taken from their families and put into military training at the age of seven. This stage in their life was called agoge; they spent the next 20 or so years of their life learning about Spartan military history, tactics, and strategy. Sparta had many neighboring states of Greece, and Sparta wanted to always be prepared for a fight. This is why they had a constant supply of talented and devoted soldiers. Once the boys finished agoge, they were allowed citizenship. If a Spartan did not pass this rigorous course by the age of thirty, they were not allowed citizenship or granted land for their military services. He could take no other profession or trade that would distract him from his sole responsibility as a warrior. This made the core of the Spartan army look like gods because they trained and basically worked out every day for decades. This was just one interesting topic that I researched.

The main reason I wanted to work in the forge is that I love working with my hands. I feel like I have more control over the outcome and can really make whatever comes to mind. My first proposal for my project was to build one sword, one spear, and one shield. One I started my project and I saw what I was capable of achieving, I decided to push myself and do as much as possible with the time I had left.  Over the course of my senior project, I have made 6 spears, 8 swords, 4 shields, and 1 knife. Looking back at the beginning of the senior project, I wouldn't think that it could be possible to have made much progress as I've made. What I accomplished feels satisfying, but also it feels like I pushed myself to the limit and saw what I could do with my hands and creativity.