Aug 8, 2003 By Hayley Bykens For The 6 min read

FARMINGTON – About a dozen blacksmithing students watch William Fiorini as he carefully holds two pieces of steel in the 2,000-degree heat of a forge fire and begins to weld them together. Fiorini, who is recognized as one of the nation’s top knife-makers, demonstrated the step-by-step process of Damascus steel making recently during a blacksmithing course offered at Touchstone Center for the Crafts in Farmington.

As the raging fire heats the steel, Fiorini explains to his students that Damascus steel is created through a combination of high and low carbon steels, which are folded and welded together to form a number of layers.

Fiorini, a Latrobe native who currently teaches at the University of Wisconsin, continues to stack layers of steel as he heats it to the appropriate temperature. After the metal has been properly heated, he uses a hammer and anvil to shape and mold the knife during the demonstration.

“The class teaches a variety of skills,” said Fiorini, as he takes time out from the demonstration to answer questions. “Some people come to the class who have never lit a fire and others have experience, but by the first day they all have experience.”

As he continues to work, he explains to his students that the layers of steel are formed into patterns to bring beauty to the steel objects and produce tougher blades with better edges.

Because the temperature in a forge can exceed more than 2,000 degrees, Fiorini warned his students that they must be extremely careful.

During the class, Fiorini said students learn basic blacksmithing skills through hours of intense labor. The students also learn how to forge a knife and basic Damascus skills. Although modern technology has made many people think that machines can make anything, Fiorini said he still believes that a machine will never take the place of something that has been created by hand through hours of labor.

At the end of the five-day course, Fiorini said each student will have a beautiful knife he has created with his own hands. The knife could become a family heirloom that will be handed down from generation to generation.

“Originally, Damascus weaponry was used for strength, but now the weapons are used for beauty,” he said.

Fiorini explains that the Indians invented traditional Damascus steel making more than 2,000 years ago. Because the Indians did not have the capability to forge the steel, they formed a bond with the city of Damascus, and that’s how the craft received its name.

Famous warriors throughout history have carried Damascus swords, including Alexander the Great and well-known Vikings, according to Fiorini. Damascus swords were dominant weapons during the Iron Age.

The blacksmithing classes begin at 9 a.m. and run until about 5:30 p.m. each day when dinner is served. After class, students spend time in the blacksmithing studio working on their projects.

Students have the opportunity to work in a recently constructed blacksmithing studio, which was funded with money donated by the Eberly Foundation, which is operated by millionaire philanthropist Bob Eberly and his sister, Caroline Blaney.

The foundation also donated the center’s gallery and exhibit hall to showcase blacksmithing pieces, which have been created by instructors as well as students. A course fee is charged to cover materials and studio fees.

“The students value the souvenirs they go home with,” said Jim Campbell, manger of the blacksmithing shop. “I’ve seen them start with a block of steel, laminate it, turn it into a knife and then put a razor-sharp edge on it and cut a 2-by-4 in half rapidly, then shave the hair on your arm.”

Students came from around the area for the class, but a father and son traveled from Plymouth, Mich., just to take the class.

“We were looking through the course catalog, and this class just jumped out at us,” said 17-year-old Steve Musselman.

“We like doing things that are different,” added Tom Musselman, his father. “It was something we have never done before so we thought we would give it a try.”

Fiorini specializes in decorative knives, many with very intricate designs and patterns. He explains that the knives are expensive to create because of the materials and the time spent making them. He estimated that it takes at least five days and sometimes even longer to create one knife. Most of Fiorini’s work ranges in price from a minimum of $550 and up.

In addition to the work he has done in the United States, Fiorini also travels overseas to Japan to study the country’s crafts so he can improve his own skills. The Japanese knife maker that Fiorini studies with also travels to his workshop in Wisconsin once a year.

Fiorini said he combines the work of Japanese blacksmithing with other styles to create his own unique method.

“My work is a combination of Western and Japanese style,” he said.

On his trip to Touchstone, his wife, Kirsten Skiles, and their two children, Ian, 3, and Stella, 1, accompanied Fiorini. This marked the first time that the couple brought the children with them during a major workshop.

“Ian spends a little bit of time in the shop,” Fiorini said. “He has his own hammer and anvil and we might start making him a knife this fall. Kirsten and I try to split the time in the show and babysitting since the house is near by.”

Fiorini gained interest in blacksmithing while he was a college student. He first became interested in art while earning his degree in goldsmithing from Bowling Greene University in Ohio.

After meeting his wife during an art class, the couple discovered their mutual interest in metalworking. However, his wife’s main interest is concentrated on another craft called chasing.

This process allows the crafter to make different types of metalwork like leaves, animals or practically any other kind of object.

“Chasing is a method of working sheet metal,” Kirsten Skiles said. “I love the things that I can make, and the way that the metal moves to create different images.”

Skiles studied anthropology at the University of Illinois, where she took a jewelry class and became hooked on art.

Touchstone Center for the Crafts still has numerous classes available this season on a variety of topics.

Some of the classes offered at Touchstone include painting, blacksmithing, photography, dancing and more.

For more information on the Touchstone Center for the Crafts, visit the Web site at www.touchstonecrafts.com or call 1-800-721-0177.

Touchstone is located on Wharton Furnace Road, which is off Route 40 in Farmington.