Demonstrator Information

Peter Happny, Portsmouth, New Hampshire

In 35 years in business, he has taught in many craft schools and demonstrated throughout the U.S.A. and in Europe. He is an active member of ABANA and attended his first conference in Lumpkin, Georgia in 1973,

Peter’s demonstration will focus on blacksmithing techniques that make money in this new century. Over the years of doing business in New Hampshire, Peter has been challenged to come up with good designs to sell at a reasonable cost. He will explore solutions in solid, hollow, and sheet materials.

Audra Draper, Riverton, Wyoming

Audra passed her Master Smith test with the American Bladesmith Society in 2000. She is the first woman to become an ABS Mastersmith. Audra Draper forges all her knives. She forges her blades from 52100 bearing steel and layered Damascus. Since she started making Damascus in 1996, this has been a real passion for her. Most of the time her Damascus is made from 1084 and 15N20. Though Audra makes many different kinds of knives, she most frequently makes “using” knives such as Damascus hunters, with 300 plus layers and blades that range from 3 1/2" to 4 1/2". Each knife Audra makes is tested for flexibility and cutting ability before it leaves her shop. As she says, "A good using knife should look good, but the most important thing for a knife to do is perform."

Audra will be demonstrating her techniques for making a damascus billet. She will then develop a knife from the billet and teach the steps she takes to produce her spectacular knives.

Mark Hopper, Kennesaw, Georgia

Mark has been blacksmithing since age 13 and has been a professional smith for 10 years. Growing up In England, he studied at Hereford’s Smithing College with Adrian Legg and Derrick Lloyd. He understudied at Dick Quinel’s workshop ‘London’ under Ian Lamb. Later he moved to Cranbrook Forge in Kent, and then began his own workshop. After this time as a journeyman he moved to Kenya, East Africa where he taught tool smithing for four years. On returning to Europe, he moved to France where he opened his business again, honing his skills in traditional and modern smithing, bladesmithing and silversmithing. Mark has been visiting and working in the U.S. the past two years.

Mark will be demonstrating some traditional tool making on the first day- punches and chisels, and their hardening and tempering; tong making the English way; and also a scroll fork. His main focus as always will be on surface finish and quality, two aspects that are slowly being lost in modern smithing. On the second day he will demonstrate some traditional forged elements, Snub-end Scroll, Blow-over Leaf Scroll, Beveled Scroll, and a Heel Bar with picket. He will show how all these elements could fit together into a screen.

Dereck Glaser, Auburn, Maine

Dereck Glaser started forging at 14, and in his late teens and all through college he worked in shops and pursued metalworking of all forms. He earned a Bachelors of Science Degree in Industrial Art Education and a minor in Art. Dereck has taught at various schools across the country and is a licensed educator in most of New England. His work reflects a traditional European flavor and emphasizes the methods and reasoning behind traditional joinery and the design aspects of many of the past and present masters that he has studied. His metalwork is spread throughout the eastern United States. In 1997 Dereck moved his family to Maine to teach metal arts at the high school level. He is now the Director and Resident Blacksmith of the New England School of Metalwork in Auburn, Maine.

Much of this demonstration will focus on the design development, tooling, forging and forming of the Acanthus leaf. The application will be to architectural ironwork, where the use of heavy gage sheet (10 ga.) is important for larger outdoor accents. \ Single dimension and three-dimensional leaves will be shown. Different ways to then attach these leaves to scroll work will also be demonstrated. Discussions on forging and the forming of the leaves will shed light on the use and development of the tooling required to make these leaves a part of your ironwork.

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