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Written by Franklyn D. Garland

Page 5 of 7

Getting Started in Metalcraft...

Mr. E. Knight and me at Naperville Settlement, 1988

I met my wife while I was in college and we were married in 1987. In 1988, a good friend of mine told me that his father was a volunteer blacksmith at a local, living history museum called the "Naper Settlement." Mr. Knight got me into the program and I was turned loose in the 19th century blacksmith shop, complete with coal, metal and tools. I had gotten involved because I wanted to make a rapier for stage work (a rapier is a kind of sword). While there I got interested in blacksmithing as well as knifemaking and my wife's request for a courting candle put me over the edge.

Hard at work in Naperville Settlement shop

I began gathering tools and equipment, which caused my wife great distress as I tried to shoe-horn all this gear into our apartment. We eventually bought our first home, turned the garage into a blacksmith shop, and in 1990 opened the "Celtic Knot Forge" at the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Kenosha, WI.

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After years of trying to get a "round toit" - the Elektric Anvil has been re-integrated into the Celtic Knot. I have closed "ElektricAnvil.net" and am now working on adding new material to the knot. Come back soon to see what's new at the Celtic Knot.