Hello all,

Haven't been able to get on much, but I'm taking a bit of a break at the moment.

I've been to the Royal Armouries a few times, which to me is a bit like walking around Heaven. My focus is the arms and armour of the 14th century, and the RA has a truly fantastic collection.

They've also got a blacksmithing and armouring shop. Last time in I went and watched a demo, and smelling the coal smoke and hearing the ring of the anvil and seeing the sparks fly has really renewed my jones for the forge. It was a hard thing for me to pack up my shop (mostly just closing it up, but I put my favorite and best tools in storage). Since I deal with metal in my studies pretty much every day, and am also interested in the development of metalwork for the entire of the medieval period, I've had the forge on my mind.

I'll have to go back to the RA forge a lot. A PhD student here also knows a gent with a forge in the area, so maybe I can find someone who would be willing to let this displaced smith work on occassion. Besides that, I'm thinking I may need to make a couple mock-ups to do some tests on. Lots of things going on, lots of possibilities, and I've just started!

Cheers,
Nick