My lady and I loved going to this renaissance festival that they have every year in our town, the first numerous years in a row were spectacular! Trained swordsmen in full armor, bashing each other with their shields as they cross swords? That’s awesome. Our town always scheduled it during the perfect time of year too, so we were always comfortable even without indoor AC. There were vendors everywhere, from food vendors to souvenirs. Yet one vendor that caught our eye was a guy positioned in a small clearing, away from the numerous vendors, hammering away at what looked like a red-hot sword! I approached this guy with my lady in tow, eager to see a blacksmith in real time. The guy saw she and I coming, smiled, and motioned for the two of us to come closer for a better look. He said his name was Guy, ironically, plus he was a genuine blacksmith who produces props plus replica weapons for movie studios. On the side though, he creates battle-ready swords! What a job that must be. As I was asking him about the process of smithing, I couldn’t help how abruptly I was heavily perspiring. Again, Guy smiled, as he said constantly working the forge takes time to get used to the furnace heat. I don’t know how he did it – the forge felt like a gas heater dumping hot hair directly into our eyeah! Guy explained that the heat is critical to form the metals used in his smithing process. However, we found ourselves backing further away from his set-up. He laughed, telling us that it’s much easier to task the forge during the bitter-cold Winters in our area; the heat from the forge keeps you as warm as being inside with the HVAC system on all day. I was so ecstatic that I grabbed one of his dealer cards – I’ll be asking him if he’s willing to take an apprentice on later this year!