How To Make an Iron Fish!

04/18/2012

I am not even kidding. He is now blowing fish! Cord and his friends, Lex and Jamie, get together at rotating forges and make cool stuff. The last meeting included blowing fish. On Sundays Cord often forges, depending on his schedule, and he works on things he likes, instead of orders. (Shh!)
He welded the two fish cut-outs together, then welded a pipe into the mouth opening and heated it up in the propane forge. The propane forge blasts like crazy - much hotter faster than the coal forge. Once iron is molten is moves like butta so he's actually blowing hot air (with the forge), into the welded iron cut-outs which makes it puff out.
So - the picture was for fun to send to his friends but the real story is below. I love being married to a blacksmith.

Coal forge.

I am obviously missing many pics of the process - but thought I'd taunt you all with these. Look what happens next - so beautiful!

The iron is alive! (Propane forge next to coal forge.)

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Penn Parmenter is a high altitude gardener and student of the earth. She is married to Cord Parmenter - an awesome gardener, gorgeous man and a master blacksmith. She is a mother of three boys and an outdoorswoman. Penn forages wild food, hunts big game, fishes, preserves, maintains a huge organic forest garden and occasionally makes dinner.
She has been working on self-publishing her book, "How To Grow Food In The Mountains", in between teaching a slew of mountain food growing classes and raising three boys. At home you can find her in her greenhouse as well as in the wilderness - nose to the ground, butt in the air, trying to identify Colorado natives.