I agree 100%, Cedric. my motto echoes yours: "its easy to take metal off but its mighty hard to make it grow back". And man, if you figure out a good way to grow metal back, don't tell ANYONE until you get a patent;) Also, to Mcapanelli, mineral oil as far as I was taught is less for a co...

To turn this discussion around a bit into a "How the hell do you fight off said light-brown microscopic orcs?" how do YOU guys get this crap off? I've heard a number of methods and have googled plenty, but I've never had to deal with it before so I'm coming to you. Have at it! Let's see i...

If you are on facebook, the herbalist I've learned from is very very qualified. She would love to discuss history. I don't know the specifics, but I do know that some essencial oils and other stronger herbs cant be stored in anything with metal. Some (like peppermint essencial oil) can't be stored w...

I posted this in SFI and I know no one here is currently trying to assemble an asian set, but if you find anyone who wants this, they don't make them anymore, and it's a very nice sword. Here's the SFI post: This is for a Chenness Higo Katana as pictured here: http://www.chenessinc.com/laminated.htm...

I think I mentioned this elsewhere, but I have had the ranger boots for the last 8 years. They weathered fairly well on their own, but I think what did the msot damage was scuffing through gravel roads, letting them get muddy and wet and then balling them up in a plastic bag for the drives home, and...

Ideally it would be as soon as possible but currently a year and a half is as soon as I could see it happening. And everyone would be welcome to stay longer, a week was just the starting idea. It's hard to take more then that off of work and what not. Families welcome:-P

Haha. Threads are for hijacking, if we get too serious we all go crazy. Gareth: No coal? That is sad, because I am having trouble finding coal. The environmentalists are ruining my medieval expeirence. I'll recycle my plastic and use clean oil in my car but I want my coal! Peter: If you tell everyon...

West Coast? WEST COAST?!?! HUZZAH! Please tell me you'll be around Nor Cal... Greg, I'm on the west coast, Bend, OR. Going to be making a trip to northern cali soonish (I hope) to visit some friends (fellow jeweler and him and his wife do horseback archery). How close are you to the Pacific Crest T...

My bad on the thread hijack... but I blame Garet... :-P Email me for our site. Bedford is cool, I've looked them over a few times. I think we're going for something more permanent and less public. Like... a closed community that allows visitors under certain conditions instead of disneyland. or a re...

I do leather work... Though my tools are on the other side of the country and I won't be joining them for a bit. *sigh* I know a ranger who's working on the commune plan, but I'll let him bring it up if he likes. ;) ~G Oh hey, that's me. We're doing a medieval/tolkien aesthetic commune. Primary ten...

Well why is everyone hiding!

Heh, I guess we have an army of blacksmiths then. We need more leathersmiths, carpenters, and someone with some semblance of construction tech knowledge so we don't build fall-apart houses.

Eric and RD are both blacksmiths. I've done a bit of blacksmithing and bladesmithing. Then Siani is a bladesmith. Who am I missing?

Heh, sounds like we now have, as far as I can keep track, 2 blacksmiths, a blacksmith/bladesmith/metalsmith and a bladesmith. Gettin kinda crowded in here;)

Extended response, via my anthro classes in college, as best as I can remember at least: If you consider this map: http://www.cruiserlog.com/wiki/images/thumb/a/af/Pacific_Ocean_Currents.jpg/300px-Pacific_Ocean_Currents.jpg and then look at the migration patterns of early polynesians http://upload.w...

Thanks everyone, I'll check that stuff out!