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(Greg's day of fun)
As recommended by our friend John, Greg chose to sign up for a day's knifemaking at Steve and Robyn's forge in the little village of Barrytown on the striking west coast. I, on the other hand, chose not to, just because it's not really been a dream of mine- unlike some people. So I became official knifemaking photographer for the day, catching all the enjoyment had be Greg and his knifemaking chums as they were taught all the essential processes from tempering the steel to sanding and polishing the blade by Steve, a characterful old gent who'd been running the classes since he stopped work as a lingerie designer. When I asked him about this odd career change he simply answered that people should have many changes in their vocation through life: he was quite philosophical- and liked to crack a joke every now and then- well, pretty much all the time. Their setup was very accommodating- all the equipment including the forge was laid out on their front verandah and the sanding was done on their back porch with views overlooking the sea. Robyn even took her recruits for a short bush walk by the house to work off the sandwiches she'd provided and there was a spot of axe throwing on offer, but you had to watch out for their two dogs! And, to top it all off and as a very touching gesture, we were all invited (including me who hadn't done anything) into their home for a glass of bubbly wine and a chat, once everyone had finished making their knives. Greg had a fantastic day and it was made all the better by the friendly nature of Robyn and Steve who weren't obviously doing it just to make money. We continued our drive up the west coast highway passing by beautiful, long sandy beaches on our left and miles of green rainforest on our right.
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As recommended by our friend John, Greg chose to sign up for a day's knifemaking at Steve and Robyn's forge in the little village of Barrytown on the striking west coast. I, on the other hand, chose not to, just because it's not really been a dream of mine- unlike some people. So I became official knifemaking photographer for the day, catching all the enjoyment had be Greg and his knifemaking chums as they were taught all the essential processes from tempering the steel to sanding and polishing the blade by Steve, a characterful old gent who'd been running the classes since he stopped work as a lingerie designer. When I asked him about this odd career change he simply answered that people should have many changes in their vocation through life: he was quite philosophical- and liked to crack a joke every now and then- well, pretty much all the time. Their setup was very accommodating- all the equipment including the forge was laid out on their front verandah and the sanding was done on their back porch with views overlooking the sea. Robyn even took her recruits for a short bush walk by the house to work off the sandwiches she'd provided and there was a spot of axe throwing on offer, but you had to watch out for their two dogs! And, to top it all off and as a very touching gesture, we were all invited (including me who hadn't done anything) into their home for a glass of bubbly wine and a chat, once everyone had finished making their knives. Greg had a fantastic day and it was made all the better by the friendly nature of Robyn and Steve who weren't obviously doing it just to make money. We continued our drive up the west coast highway passing by beautiful, long sandy beaches on our left and miles of green rainforest on our right.
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We stopped off at the unusually formed Pancake Rocks and ended up in the small town of Westport for the night.
