Blacksmith, Mike Murphy will be at the Mayhaw Berry Festival on Sunday, May 5th. His setup is made up of a fully operational, mobile blacksmith shop in a tent. He uses a coal forge, and a hammer and anvil to make items as part of his demonstration.
He tells us his setup is not completely museum-accurate; he has several tools which he made using more modern techniques, and a number of the items he has for sale are for modern usage. However, on the whole, it is a pretty good depiction of blacksmithing tools and techniques from the period of about 1860 through about 1890. He uses the “three-foot rule” — if it looks right from three feet, it’s good to go!
While he’s working, he answer questions from visitors, and has a few short stories to illustrate blacksmithing techniques, tools and history. He even have a couple of blacksmith jokes to tell.
Here is a list of what he has for sale now:
Oyster shuckers made from railroad spikes
Steel bookmarks
Fireplace tools
Letter openers
Tomahawks (these are actually useable as hatchets, and for throwing contests.)
Knives
Candle holders
Campfire cook sets (tripods and horizontal cooking booms)
Barbecue tools (forks, meat turners, etc.)
Dinner bells (old-style triangles — noisy things, they are)
Wall hooks
For continual updates and comprehensive lists of activities, vendores and events at the Festival, keep checking our 2013 Mayhaw Berry Festival events page.