Forge Side Chat

Episode 152 Lando and Laroquez sit down to chat about what's been keeping them busy lately including a new hydraulic forge press build and a trip to Salt Spring Island.

Laroquez recently decided to up his game and build a forge press. Something he has been wanting to do for a long time now, but space wasn't allowing. With his new shop space he decided to start building a hefty press.

Lando (that's me) travelled to Salt Spring Island to hang out at Thistle Rock Forge with a group of awesome smiths under the tutor of Peter Braspenix.

Listen to hear about some of the things I learnt on my trip as well as the chat regarding the hydraulic press build.

Thank you to everyone that listens and follows the show!

CanIron 2025

That's right ladies and gents. CanIron is coming to Manitoba! The Manitoba blacksmith guild has done it. They have secured a location in Austin, MB. They have set the date, August 7-10,2025.

They have aligned catered food and places for people to stay. They have organized a line up of presenters that will be absolutely amazing. And of course the list of support is too notch as well.

CanIron XIV is bound to be an event that will be spoken about for years and you don't want to miss it.

Presentations will be provided by... are you ready for this!

Noah Vachon @vachonknives

Jake James @jakejames

Pat Quinn @handforgedinvt

Frank Annighofer @abanaorg

Ryan Belanger @ryanbelanger_truenorthforge

Leah Aripotch @leaharipotch

Manitoba Blacksmith Guild @manitobasmiths

Sponsored by

Maritime Knife Supply @maritimeknifesupply

Maritime Knife supply is the place to go for all your knife making needs. Literally everything for knife making supplies!

www.maritimeknifesupply.ca

Save on kilns !!!! with the code (ha go listen to the episode yah hosers)

Episode 151 with Noah Vachon of Vachon Knives in Sanstead Quebec.

Noah joins Justin and Lando this week for a chat about life, work, business and of course CanIron. Get some insight on what to expect at this year's CanIron event as Noah comes out to demonstrate some knife making skills. This episode also dives into some history behind all 3 in the chat all the while bringing you the educational value this podcast has become well known for. Sit back, relax, and soak up some great info. Or maybe enjoy this while you grind away. Either way...

Thank you to everyone that listens and follows the show!

CanIron 2025

That's right ladies and gents. CanIron is coming to Manitoba! The Manitoba blacksmith guild has done it. They have secured a location in Austin, MB. They have set the date, August 7-10,2025.

They have aligned catered food and places for people to stay. They have organized a line up of presenters that will be absolutely amazing. And of course the list of support is too notch as well.

CanIron XIV is bound to be an event that will be spoken about for years and you don't want to miss it.

Presentations will be provided by... are you ready for this!

Noah Vachon @vachonknives

Jake James @jakejames

Pat Quinn @handforgedinvt

Frank Annighofer @abanaorg

Ryan Belanger @ryanbelanger_truenorthforge

Leah Aripotch @leaharipotch

Manitoba Blacksmith Guild @manitobasmiths

Sponsored by

Maritime Knife Supply @maritimeknifesupply

Maritime Knife supply is the place to go for all your knife making needs. Literally everything for knife making supplies!

www.maritimeknifesupply.ca

Save on kilns !!!! with the code (ha go listen to the episode yah hosers)

EP 150!! With Ryan Belanger of True North Forge in Alymer, Ontario Canada

Its with absolute pleasure that we get to introduce you to Ryan Belanger this week. Ryan has been a good friend of ours for a few years now and is without a doubt one of our most favorite blacksmiths. His skill set is something to admire as well as his humble approach to life. Justin and Lando discuss with Ryan much about this as well as his involvement with the upcoming CanIron. Ryan has a few demonstrations under his belt with his local group OABA and will soon bring his knowledge of the ABANA curriculum to Austin Manitoba. The tools, the techniques, and most importantly the wisdom behind repetition. Ryan is not one to settle for good enough and you can see that in his work. If you are on the fence about CanIron, the demonstrator line up is without a doubt something you don't want to miss.

Thank you to everyone that listens and follows the show!

CanIron 2025

That's right ladies and gents. CanIron is coming to Manitoba! The Manitoba blacksmith guild has done it. They have secured a location in Austin, MB. They have set the date, August 7-10,2025.

They have aligned catered food and places for people to stay. They have organized a line up of presenters that will be absolutely amazing. And of course the list of support is too notch as well.

CanIron XIV is bound to be an event that will be spoken about for years and you don't want to miss it.

Presentations will be provided by... are you ready for this!

Noah Vachon @vachonknives

Jake James @jakejames

Pat Quinn @handforgedinvt

Frank Annighofer @abanaorg

Ryan Belanger @ryanbelanger_truenorthforge

Leah Aripotch @leaharipotch

Manitoba Blacksmith Guild @manitobasmiths

Sponsored by

Maritime Knife Supply @maritimeknifesupply

Maritime Knife supply is the place to go for all your knife making needs. Literally everything for knife making supplies!

www.maritimeknifesupply.ca

Save on kilns !!!! with the code (ha go listen to the episode yah hosers)

EP 149 with Pat Quinn of the Center For Metal Arts joins us this week with some history of his life as a blacksmith and getting into the Center For Metal Arts. @abstract_blacksmith and @rainydayforge sit down with Pat for a couple hours and only brush the surface of things we can learn from Pat. This man is extremely well known and respected in the blacksmith for a good reason. His work ethic and quality of work combine with his honest and open personality make him one of the greats of modern day blacksmithing. Pats made a massive impact in the world of blacksmithing with the Center for Metal Arts and you can get to witness him in person at CanIron 2025 here in Manitoba Canada this summer.. Take a listen to the episode and get an idea of what Pat will bring to the event. The Manitoba Blacksmith Guild is very excited to be bringing him here for this and for good reason. Come check it out, meet some amazing smiths, soak up some great knowledge and enjoy some stellar demonstrations.

Thank you to everyone that listens and follows the show!

CanIron 2025

That's right ladies and gents. CanIron is coming to Manitoba! The Manitoba blacksmith guild has done it. They have secured a location in Austin, MB. They have set the date, August 7-10,2025.

They have aligned catered food and places for people to stay. They have organized a line up of presenters that will be absolutely amazing. And of course the list of support is too notch as well.

CanIron XIV is bound to be an event that will be spoken about for years and you don't want to miss it.

Presentations will be provided by... are you ready for this!

Noah Vachon @vachonknives

Jake James @jakeblacksmith

Pat Quinn @handforgedinvt

Frank Annighofer @abanaorg

Ryan Belanger @ryanbelanger_truenorthforge

Leah Aripotch @leaharipotch

Manitoba Blacksmith Guild @manitobasmiths

Sponsored by

Maritime Knife Supply @maritimeknifesupply

Maritime Knife supply is the place to go for all your knife making needs. Literally everything for knife making supplies!

www.maritimeknifesupply.ca

Save on kilns !!!! with the code (ha go listen to the episode yah hosers)

EP 148 with Heather Lawrie of Heavy Metal Heather in West Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, Canada

Ladies and gents, this week we sit down with an amazing metal artist from the East coast of Canada. This lady has her game figured out! She has a good story of growing up as a hard working girl with parents that did a good job guiding her. With the knowledge she has gained over her year of working in the family business as well as having a husband who owned a machine shop(which her son has now taken over) she has a good hand in business. All of the culminated into her become one heck of a metal artist when she one day began to play with a welder and plasma cutter. She found a new love and combined that with her knowledge of painting to begin making some absolutely stunning pieces.

It was our absolute pleasure to sit down and get to know Heather. We laughed and shared some great info. Hopefully you get a few chuckles and walk away with some inspiration of your own!

Thank you to everyone that listens and follows the show!

CanIron 2025

That's right ladies and gents. CanIron is coming to Manitoba! The Manitoba blacksmith guild has done it. They have secured a location in Austin, MB. They have set the date, August 7-10,2025.

They have aligned catered food and places for people to stay. They have organized a line up of presenters that will be absolutely amazing. And of course the list of support is too notch as well.

CanIron XIV is bound to be an event that will be spoken about for years and you don't want to miss it.

Presentations will be provided by... are you ready for this!

Noah Vachon @vachonknives

Jake James @jakeblacksmith

Pat Quinn @handforgedinvt

Frank Annighofer @abanaorg

Ryan Belanger @ryanbelanger_truenorthforge

Leah Aripotch @leaharipotch

Manitoba Blacksmith Guild @manitobasmiths

Sponsored by

Maritime Knife Supply @maritimeknifesupply

Maritime Knife supply is the place to go for all your knife making needs. Literally everything for knife making supplies!

www.maritimeknifesupply.ca

Save on kilns !!!! with the code (ha go listen to the episode yah hosers)

EP 147 with Henry Davis of HT1 Metalworks in Jacksonville Florida. This week Lando and Laroquez sit down with Henry to discuss his business of castings. Henry has become a well known name for Navy pieces that he casts at his home shop. He tell us about how he has become absolutely swamped with orders and tries to live a balanced life in the crazy hot temperatures of Florida. We go over some of his history of service in the Navy where he learnt how to cast, weld and shoot machine guns. Henry was a wealth of knowledge and we hope you find this chat enjoy thoroughly enjoyable.

Thank you to everyone that listens and follows the show!

CanIron 2025

That's right ladies and gents. CanIron is coming to Manitoba! The Manitoba blacksmith guild has done it. They have secured a location in Austin, MB. They have set the date, August 7-10,2025.

They have aligned catered food and places for people to stay. They have organized a line up of presenters that will be absolutely amazing. And of course the list of support is too notch as well.

CanIron XIV is bound to be an event that will be spoken about for years and you don't want to miss it.

Presentations will be provided by... are you ready for this!

Noah Vachon @vachonknives

Jake James @jakeblacksmith

Pat Quinn @handforgedinvt

Frank Annighofer @abanaorg

Ryan Belanger @ryanbelanger_truenorthforge

Leah Aripotch @leaharipotch

Manitoba Blacksmith Guild @manitobasmiths

Sponsored by

Maritime Knife Supply @maritimeknifesupply

Maritime Knife supply is the place to go for all your knife making needs. Literally everything for knife making supplies!

www.maritimeknifesupply.ca

Save on kilns !!!! with the code (ha go listen to the episode yah hosers)

EP 146 with Mike Whitmore of Whitewater Forge in Pembroke, Ontario.

This week we sit down with Mike to discuss his business in blacksmithing and how it has turned into a full time business for him. All the while he continues to serve as a volunteer firefighter. Mike has made a successful business as a blacksmith with making knives, axes, hammers and also artistic pieces such as floral pieces, rings and bracelets. Both myself and Laroquez are in love with Mike's shop setup so we made sure to ask him about that and the tools he had acquired. Another great chat with another great blacksmith in the books.

Thank you to everyone that listens and follows the show!

CanIron 2025

That's right ladies and gents. CanIron is coming to Manitoba! The Manitoba blacksmith guild has done it. They have secured a location in Austin, MB. They have set the date, August 7-10,2025.

They have aligned catered food and places for people to stay. They have organized a line up of presenters that will be absolutely amazing. And of course the list of support is too notch as well.

CanIron XIV is bound to be an event that will be spoken about for years and you don't want to miss it.

Presentations will be provided by... are you ready for this!

Noah Vachon @vachonknives

Jake James @jakeblacksmith

Pat Quinn @handforgedinvt

Frank Annighofer @abanaorg

Ryan Belanger @ryanbelanger_truenorthforge

Leah Aripotch @leaharipotch

Manitoba Blacksmith Guild @manitobasmiths

Sponsored by

Maritime Knife Supply @maritimeknifesupply

Maritime Knife supply is the place to go for all your knife making needs. Literally everything for knife making supplies!

www.maritimeknifesupply.ca

Save on kilns !!!! with the code (ha go listen to the episode yah hosers)

Episode 145 with Phil Binder of Philworx

We sit down with Phil once again to relight a dumpster fire we left smoldering. There were intentions for a different guest this week, but due to connectivity issues we had to do some last minute reach arounds to find a new guest. And guess who came to save us, but the none other than Philworx.

You may remember Phil from a few episodes back. We have a strong connection behind the scenes with eachother through instagram chats. It made it easy for us to connect on a multitude of issues that some may find disturbing. Of course we sprinkled in some useful tidbits here and there so you can get some listening value out of this one and not walk away in complete and utter disappointment.

CanIron 2025

That's right ladies and gents. CanIron is coming to Manitoba! The Manitoba blacksmith guild has done it. They have secured a location in Austin, MB. They have set the date, August 7-10,2025.

They have aligned catered food and places for people to stay. They have organized a line up of presenters that will be absolutely amazing. And of course the list of support is too notch as well.

CanIron XIV is bound to be an event that will be spoken about for years and you don't want to miss it.

Presentations will be provided by... are you ready for this!

Noah Vachon @vachonknives

Jake James @jakeblacksmith

Pat Quinn @handforgedinvt

Frank Annighofer @abanaorg

Ryan Belanger @ryanbelanger_truenorthforge

Leah Aripotch @leaharipotch

Manitoba Blacksmith Guild @manitobasmiths

Sponsered by

Maritime Knife Supply @maritimeknifesupply

Maritime Knife supply is the place to go for all your knife making needs. Literally everything for knife making supplies!

www.maritimeknifesupply.ca

Save on kilns !!!! with the code (ha go listen to the episode yah hosers)

Episode 144 with Codie Aljets. A long awaited conversation between myself and Codie finally took place and we put it on the record for all you to hear. I've been online buddies with Codie for a few years now. We have shared stories, tips and just life updates. This man has a lot to share and we definitely didn't cover all of it. His life in art and Metalwork was our focus, but we also touch a little on some of his previous endeavors and life struggles. One thing I found very informative about this conversation was Codies explanation of using a wooden block to shape metal while still cold. He might have a forge and anvil, but to the surprise of many that see his art, most of his work is done cold.

Many thanks to Codie for sharing his story with the world and many thanks to the listeners. I hope you all find this one to be informative and helpful.

CanIron 2025

That's right ladies and gents. CanIron is coming to Manitoba! The Manitoba blacksmith guild has done it. They have secured a location in Austin, MB. They have set the date, August 7-10,2025.

They have aligned catered food and places for people to stay. They have organized a line up of presenters that will be absolutely amazing. And of course the list of support is too notch as well.

CanIron XIV is bound to be an event that will be spoken about for years and you don't want to miss it.

Presentations will be provided by... are you ready for this!

Noah Vachon @vachonknives

Jake James @jakeblacksmith

Pat Quinn @handforgedinvt

Frank Annighofer @abanaorg

Ryan Belanger @ryanbelanger_truenorthforge

Leah Aripotch @leaharipotch

Manitoba Blacksmith Guild @manitobasmiths

Sponsered by

Maritime Knife Supply @maritimeknifesupply

Maritime Knife supply is the place to go for all your knife making needs. Literally everything for knife making supplies!

www.maritimeknifesupply.ca

Save on kilns !!!! with the code (ha go listen to the episode yah hosers)

Episode 143 with Artist blacksmith Jake James from Vancouver Island BC.

Jake James was our very first officially released to public episode and now he's back. CanIron is on the horizon and Jake is slated to be one of the demonstrators at the event this summer. If you haven't gotten signed up yet then get on over to the site and get your tickets cause this is going to be an event you don't want to miss. We talk all about that in this episode and also get some life update on Jake as he has some exciting stuff coming up soon in his life. And when I say we, I'm talking about Mr Justin Lamoureux of Rainy Day Forge! Joing Forge Side Chat once again, the President of the Manitoba Blacksmith Guild bringing us all the juicy info on CanIron.

Hear all the good news here on Forge Side Chat as always!

CanIron 2025

That's right ladies and gents. CanIron is coming to Manitoba! The Manitoba blacksmith guild has done it. They have secured a location in Austin, MB. They have set the date, August 7-10,2025.

They have aligned catered food and places for people to stay. They have organized a line up of presenters that will be absolutely amazing. And of course the list of support is too notch as well.

CanIron XIV is bound to be an event that will be spoken about for years and you don't want to miss it.

Presentations will be provided by... are you ready for this!

Noah Vachon @vachonknives

Jake James @jakeblacksmith

Pat Quinn @handforgedinvt

Frank Annighofer @abanaorg

Ryan Belanger @ryanbelanger_truenorthforge

Leah Aripotch @leaharipotch

Manitoba Blacksmith Guild @manitobasmiths

Sponsered by

Maritime Knife Supply @maritimeknifesupply

Maritime Knife supply is the place to go for all your knife making needs. Literally everything for knife making supplies!

www.maritimeknifesupply.ca

Save on kilns !!!! with the code (ha go listen to the episode yah hosers)