Dang! Sorry to have been gone so long. Honestly, trying to keep up with all this social media stuff is a job of work for a luddite like me. No excuses, though, I just need to get better at it.

The upside is that I've been working on things. Not blacksmithing per se, but still shop-related.

I just bought a Woohoto tripod mount for my Iphone S5. As my luck usually goes, it was too big for the phone, so I had to add a little bit of rubber padding to the one jaw.

Great mount, though. I really love the heavy-duty construction and would recommend it to anyone.... as long as you either have a case for your phone that makes it a little wider or don't mind gluing a pad on the thing like I did.

So, yea, videos in the near future, possibly. Probably. Maybe something about forging the Dragon Tail bottle opener I developed? It's a good design, I think, and meant to fit as many of the fundamental smithing movements into one project as possible. I don't know that you can be an internet blacksmith and not forge a bottle opener, so that will be at the top of the list.

Hard to believe we've got 30 members here. That's very cool and I appreciate each and every one of you. As soon as Storefrontier makes it possible, I will be posting a 10% discount for the members here so you can get some Haute Couture from the Three Rivers Forge line of fine shirts and hoodies. I don't know if they'll ever do that, but as soon as they do... you're at the top of the list! https://www.storefrontier.com/three-rivers-forge

What else? The Subscribe Star campaign is still going strong. I post here and there, so it's just a matter of which gets things first. https://www.subscribestar.com/three-rivers-forge

If you have any questions, feel free to ask away. Having a problem with your project? Looking at a new hammer but aren't sure? I plan to do a video on hammer selection and how to treat the handles, so if you need help ask. I'm always happy to share what I've learned and it'll help me flesh out the ideas I have for the video.

Oh, and if you scroll down a bit to the piece I did titled "Learn to Draw!", you'll get some good thoughts from me and the 30x40 guy.

Well, the good news is that I bought a pair of his Blank sketchbooks and one of those fancy rotating-lead pencils he talks about. Let me tell you, that's some game-changing stuff right there!!

The pencil is just plain neat. Sorry, but I'm a nerd for technology like that and would never have imagined someone would come up with a way to rotate the lead in the pencil with every stroke. The first thing I did was write out the alphabet a few times so I could watch the little marker going around and around!

The sketchbooks turned out to be a very solid purchase and I'm glad to have them. They had a two-pack for a bit less than $30 delivered to my door.

Some will say that's pricey, but I have to keep reminding myself that if we don't support each other, we can't expect others to support us. I'd rather give my money to some small craftsmen than a giant corporation. I ask folks to buy my t-shirts and hoodies, right? Well, best I put my own money on the line, too.

The sketchbooks are just the right size for you to doodle away. Not so big that you don't want to carry them around with you, but not so small that you feel cramped and can't get your ideas down in a decent size. I have one tucked away until I need it, and the other is always close to hand, either on the desk or by my easy-chair so I can get an idea down when it comes to me.

Got the first page already filled with an idea for a little pole gin!

So, that's about it for now. I've put this page in my bookmark thing and will be back regularly to share my thoughts and ideas. If you've got a question, shout it out and maybe I can help or another member will chime in. With 30 of us here, I'm sure we can come up with some kind of solution.

Until next time!