After a winter spent pouring through books about blacksmithing, I built a forge in my back yard and set to work trying to make a knife for myself. Knives are one of the oldest tools that humans began making. I wanted to create a blade both practical and beautiful. I wanted to be able to cook and eat with it, whittle, craft, skin animals, slice papers, cardboards, leathers and ropes, and use it as a general go-to tool. I wanted to feel confident defending myself with it, but not get arrested immediatly for looking too sketchy. I also needed it to satisfy my childish desire for everything to look like it was found in some forgotten cave in a long un-heard myth of faerie. I spent about $1.00 making this knife, but probably about a week crafting it. The extended time was due to having to do all of the work by hand, which is what i wanted. I think a balance of aesthetic and practicality is important for creating garb and tool. It’s nice to feel proud and empowered by the things we can create with our own hands. This process allows us to adventure through the the physical world and not just our imaginations, because we can actually manifest the things in our dreams and use them to navigate. The pommel is oak that i cut and dried myself. it’s sealed with oil. The bolster is a band of copper salvaged from an old drain. The blade is 100 point carbon steel forged to shape from an old file. It’s been heat treated, is convexly ground and holds an edge well. It balances on the bolster and the tang was hafted with epoxy. I wanted to make pine pitch glue, but ran out of time before leaving asheville. I think it was a huge step from the rail spike knife, which was neither straight nor held an edge.
Progress pictures
I decided it was over ambitious to only distribute this zine through the mail and physical copies and so I’ve decided to post it. Please print and distribute it if you enjoy it. It’s in print ready format right now.
Also, favorite comment so far.
“I thought the story the author made up was unrealistic because it presented a role reversal that confuses gender roles and presents them in a way that doesn’t exist. I don’t think it’s healthy to encourage the idea that men can be raped, because that barely happens. And this whole idea about confusing gender is unproductive to society,” (Drunk man that got a copy from a show at my house.) The next time i write a fictional story about rape I’ll include more dragon fights yall.
From the Mouths of Wolves Bellowing Forth: Ask
Give me feedback and stuff.
My first knife. I forged it from a rail-road spike at my friend’s forge. Sadly, it meant burning coal.
I figured that the debut of this blog should coincide with the completion of my first zine. From the mo
uths of wolves bellowing forth: Ask is a narrative account of my being raped by my first ever girl-friend in middle school. It’s also a narrative of consent, lonliness, deconstructing child hood violence and abuse, redefining rape for a muggle culture, finding out what normalcy means to children, growing out of being shy and awkward, and empowering one’s self to reach past gushing wounds and continue resistance.
I might post a PDF of this zine later, but for now if you would like a copy, send me your address and I can mail you one or several.
homeiswhereyoufindyourfeet 