Two sword bags by Anna Bell.
Dragonfly Forge is now proud to start offering sword bags custom to fit each sword. They are handmade by Anna Bell of Dragonfly Forge here in our shop in Oregon. Every bag is padded with quilting material, keeping the swords well protected for storage and/or travel.
If you don’t what Facebook is then this probably has no importance to you. But now that more and more people are on Facebook, Dragonfly Forge has decided to jump on the bandwagon too!
So go ahead and visit us on Facebook, you can even become a fan 
This tanto by Gabriel Bell was awarded “Best Art Knife of Show” at the 2009 OKCA Show in Eugene, OR. This sword showcases the ability of the only second-generation Japanese swordsmith outside Japan.
2009 OKCA Show Best Art Knife of Show
Tanto in the shobu-zukuri style of standard-twist forge-welded cable construction. 10 inch nagasa with dynamic hamon.
Copper habaki. Koshirae mounted with hamidashi tsuba of antique forged wrought iron with matching wari-bashi (or wari-kogai). Seppa of copper. Partially ribbed, black and red, two-tone saya, “tiger stripe” pattern. Buffalo horn koiguchi, kojiri, and kurigata. Black silk sageo.
Handle wrapped is black silk ito over a full-wrap of same. Gold shitodome and dragon menuki. Fuchigashira of shibuichi.
As the fruit trees around the shop blossom and the everything else on Dragonfly Mountain begins to grow at a nearly unmanageable rate, Tomboyama Nihonto Tanren Dojo once again opens its doors to students.
We already had our first, very sucessful, Basic Forging Course, and classes scheduled for our swordsmithing school are already starting to fill up, so those very interested in attending one of our courses should sign up before space runs out.
Our scheduled classes run from April to August, although we may schedule a class for the beginning of October as well, depending on interest. During the winter, we will once again close our doors, as winter storms and other weather conditions can make travel difficult.
This tsuba is currently being sculpted by Gabriel Bell. The tsuba was forged from antique wrough-iron. It was then pierced and carved. The basic design is classic Japanese; the most famous tsuba of this design can be seen in the book, One Hundred Masterpieces from the Collection of Walter A. Compton. The tsuba is now in the process of being sculpted using small files, chisels and other metal carving tools, including the double-edged carving/scraping tool pictured above.
Crab design tsuba of wrought iron, in progress
After it has been sculpted and finished, a patina will promoted. The color patina we desire can only really be achieved on old-technology iron The organic nature of old-technology iron gives a grain, as well as what are referred to as “bones”, slag inclusions, that give a tsuba a wonderfully natural beautiful finish with character. This particular piece of wrought iron which is now becoming a tsuba, was the iron rim of an wagon wheel that traveled the Oregon Trail in a previous life. [Read more →]
