Bill Meets George

December 31, 2001

George posted a note on the Hoodlums' forum asking if there were any Hoodlums in the Chicago area. Apparently, just me (Bill). Today I drove to George's home and met George, his wife Maria, and baby Rebecca. Click on any picture to see a higher resolution image. Then click the Back button to return to this page.
George has a great blacksmith/forging setup in his backyard. Here he is standing next to his hand cranked blower. Most of his equipment was salvaged. He picked up this blower for $50 at a garage sale.
The forge is a metal tub lined with mortar. A sixteen inch pipe with holes runs the length of the bottom. George used PVC pipe to connect the blower to the pipe.
Another shot of the "shop". Note the Coleman lantern. George doesn't use any electricity in his shop - not even for lighting.
A shot of the anvil. George prefers to use a steel post for hammering his knives. He uses the anvil for other blacksmithing projects.
A blade is heated in the forge.
A blade coming out of the forge, ready for hammering.
Hammering the blade into shape.
A before and after shot, if you will...
Yettie, part Austrailian sheep dog, part Labrador Retriever. Intimidating, but friendly. Somehow Yettie knows when you are leaving, and he nips at your heels as if herding you! Pretty funny.
Baby Rebecca is three months old. Oops! I didn't get a picture of Maria. Sorry, Maria.
Whenever two or more of us are gathered in Ron's name...there is knives. (What kind of guest am I? Take pictures of the knives but not the hostess! Oops!)
This neck knife is George's third knife. It is stamped GAM 3. George gave this knife to me.
George uses the saw on his Gerber multitool to cut a piece of antler for me for use as a bow drill socket. George does a lot of hunting. This is his first year with a bow. No luck yet, but don't doubt this man. You should see the boar's head hanging in his home. I think he told me the boar was 235 pounds!
Copyright © 2002 by Bill Qualls. Last updated May 28, 2002. Back to the index.