With the annual Oregon Knife Collectors (OKCA) Show coming less than a month away, Dragonfly Forge is gearing up for it and the upcoming school year at our swordsmithing school, Tomboyama Nihontō Tanren Dōjō (Dragonfly Mountain Japanese Sword Forging School).
The OKCA show will be held at the Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene, Oregon on April 16-18. On Friday the show is open exclusively to OKCA members, who can attend free. Saturday and Sunday the show will be open to the public, with free demonstrations on Saturday.
The April 2010 Basic Forging Course is already fully booked with four students, but space does still remain in all of our other classes at this time. All of our classes are booked on a “first-come, first-serve” basis, with a deposit required to reserve one’s place in the session. Those interested can see our 2010 school year schedule at our school’s website and reserve a place in our classes, or visit our school’s frequently asked questions page for more information.
While our currently commissioned orders are certainly keeping us plenty busy, we have also been hard at work preparing the school for another school year. More tongs have been forged, with help from apprentice John, because as any smith knows, “you can never have too many tongs”. Maintenance has been done on our half mile driveway, and more work has been done on the shop and grounds. We’re looking forward to another enjoyable year of classes in 2010 !
Unfortunately, Dragonfly Forge will not be attending the San Francisco Token Kai this year, as it scheduled for the same weekend as Gabriel and Maria’s wedding on August 20th. Once we learned of the conflict, rescheduling was not an option, and obviously the wedding is greatly more important than any sword show, no matter how much we love swords. We with certainly be attending the 2011 Token Kai and still greatly recommend for those that can attend this year to do so.
We have also already scheduled an additional Basic Forging Course for November 1-5, 2010 due to interest. Those interested may reserve their place online at our school’s website, or contact us for more information.