Back in the forge with Pete Mattila, artist, designer and blacksmith.

Pete was running another intro to knifemaking course so I went in to shoot some promo type stuff for him.

Here he was demonstrating drawing out the tang on a pattern-welded blade of rail iron and sawblade. Will post a few more as I get to them.

Nikon Z6, Nikon Nikkor 24-200 Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR, 1/60th sec at f/6.3, ISO 400

Not the fastest glass but it gets the job done in the forge with the 5 or so stops of VR.

Tags:   Nikon Nikkor 24-200 Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR pete matilla blacksmith forge steel hammer tongs blacksmithing art technique history heritage metallurgy science Tasmania Tassie Hobart Battery Point NIK Collection DXO LABS ColorEfexPro4 Nikon Nikon Z6 Nikon Mirrorless Nikon Z Nikon Z Mount Nikon Lenses Nikkor Nikkor Lenses Prime Lens Primes Nikon Prime quenching hardening tempering transformation Nikon 24-200 f/4-6.3 Z Nikkor 24-200 f/4-6.3 Z

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The view outside from the windows of the blacksmith's shop. Battery Point, Hobart, Tasmania.

Battery Point (named for a gun emplacement) has featured large in Hobart's history. It was once a very disreputable slum but many, many vessels have been built and slipped there over the 250 odd years of the whitey being on this island. Needless to say the toffs have bought out the shanties and built flash houses while being very jealous of their views down the river. Joe Public is not invited to share.

Fortunately, Pete Mattila's forge and smithy is in one of the old sheds right on the water. It's a great place to make art from steel. Right outside is light, colour and space.

Not so much this day - frequent showers rolling up the River Derwent and only a few hardy souls out on the water.

Nikon Z6, Nikon Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR. 1/8000th sec at f/4.8, ISO 280 ~33mm

Tags:   Black and White Black and White Seascape blacksmith blacksmithing Pete Mattila Battery Point Hobart Hobart Tasmania Hobart Streets River River Derwent Derwent Derwent River DXO LABS Silver Efex Pro 2 NIK Collection Nikon Nikon Z6 Nikon Z Nikon Z Mount Z6 Nikon Nikkor Z 24-200/4-6.3 VR Nikon Z 24-200/4-6.3 VR Nikkor Z 24-200/4-6.3 VR mono Monochrome monochromatic yachts water cloud Contre Jour backlit Backlight back lighting

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Pete Mattila, artist, designer, friend and blacksmith at work on the power hammer, forging together a billet of pattern welded steel - (AKA Damascus steel).

The rhythmic, ground shaking thumping of this beast puts the best of the D&B sub-woofer crew into the realm of a tinny transistor radio from the 60s...

Nikon Z6, Nikkor Z 24-200/4-6.3, 1/30th sec at f/6.3, ISO 560

A very big 'Thank You' to everyone that views, faves and comments on my work! It's really appreciated :-)


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Tags:   blacksmith blacksmithing forge pattern welding pattern welded Damascus steel Damascus trip-hammer power hammer metal hot forging steel transformation white hot Pete Mattilla smith smithy The Magician Nikon Nikon Z Nikon Z6 Nikon Z Mount Nikon Mirrorless Z6 Nikon Nikkor Z 24-200/4-6.3 VR Nikon Z 24-200/4-6.3 VR Nikkor Z 24-200/4-6.3 VR Nikon Z 24-200 VR Nikkor Z 24-200 VR

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A pattern-welded blade by Pete Mattila of Hobart.

This particular blade is one of a trio of such hand-forged pieces created by Pete, artist, designer and blacksmith.

Pattern-welded steel is often mistakenly referred to as 'Damascus steel' but there are notable differences in production techniques, chemical composition and metallurgy in a historical sense. Sufficient differences in fact to start whole wars on blade smithing forums so not going there... :-)

This particular blade is made from railway steel and another, higher carbon steel being forced together under extreme temperature and pressure - either by press or hammer.

The unique banding in this one-piece blade comes from the many layers being twisted very tightly together at the end of the welding process and when close to white hot. The blade shape has then been hammer forged out of the circular blank. The twisting is visible in the handle.

They are a very pretty blade after pickling in acid then strong coffee :-)

Nikon Z 6, Nikkor Z 24-200/4-6.3, 1/160th sec at f/6.3, ISO 400.

Tags:   blacksmith blacksmithing bladesmith bladesmithing forge pattern welding Damascus steel steel weld high-carbon knife blade cutlery cutler hammer and tongs anvil mono Monochrome monochromatic monochromatique Black and White BNW White and Black Low Key Black and White nikon Nikon Z6 Nikon Z Nikon Z Mount Nikkor Nikkor Lenses Nikon Nikkor Z 24-200/4-6.3 VR Nikon Z 24-200/4-6.3 VR Nikkor Z 24-200/4-6.3 VR DXO LABS NIK Collection NIK SilverEfexPro Silver Efex Pro 2

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Thursday's rather impressive thunderstorm bears down on the inner Hobart suburb of Moonah with the CBD out of frame (to the left) to follow. kynyani/Mount Wellington on the skyline.

TasNetworks (the power co) estimated some 10,000 separate lighting discharges with approximately 2,000 making contact with the ground.

Power was knocked out, roads flooded and fruit crops damaged in 90 minutes of chaos.

I was on the other side of the river but only managed a couple of frames with actual strikes in them. Other folk fared a bit better. My ageing reflexes cannot beat a lighting trigger! My own house is just a bit to the left of the strike but nothing to report.

Around 10 minutes after this frame I lost sight of the opposite shore due to rain and hail. Will post one from beside the bridge (left) at some point. Have a roll of film as well - hopefully some drama amongst those.

Nikon Z6, Nikkor Z 24-200/4-6.3, 1/40th sec at f/11, ISO 200. FL ~26mm

Tags:   Clouds Storms Sunsets Sunrises cloud cloud porn Clouds cloud formations thunder lighting thunderstorm lighting strike Hobart Hobart Tasmania Hobart Streets Tasmania Tassie Derwent River River Derwent Derwent Tasman Bridge kunyani Mount Wellington Mt. Wellington There Be A Storm A Brewin Nikon Nikon Z6 Nikon Mirrorless Nikon Z Nikon Z Mount Nikon Lenses Nikkor Nikkor Lenses Nikon Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 S Nikkor Z 24-200/4-6.3 S Nikon Z 24-200/4-6.3 S DXO LABS NIK Collection Lumenzia

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