Assembling the smithy

I say assemble because it's early, very early in the process but I'm determined to resurrect the family tradition again in a more formal way than I've kept it alive since moving to San Francisco. There's something appropriate about rebuilding in PA both with respect to history and circumstance. 

So far I've got my anvil, hammers and several small torches. Channel locks will have to do for tongs right now and I still need to scrounge some logs. There's a nice little space out back under an eve on our very neglected garage/cottage. I have to start somewhere and it seems like there's a blacksmiths cooking photo essay or cookbook in there somewhere. 

I'm mostly making a point to put this out in the world so it's harder for me to not do it but im committed to making some version of Butler Forge emerge anew. 

Sous chef redux

When we arrived in Philadelphia I wasn't sure what I was going to do. Just that I wasn't going to work in EMS as a full time first responder anymore. I don't think I'll ever give up my role as a Coast Guard Auxiliary officer but EMS life is brutal and not exactly family friendly. It's times like these that have historically taken me back to the restaurant world. 

So I asked around, knocked on some doors and found myself in chef Owen Lee's kitchen in the Philadelphia suburbs. I'm learning things, remembering things and getting to explore meditaranian food, something familiar but not an area of expertise for me. Luckily, I love the food! 

I'm not sure where this will go but it's a great place to land while I sort out our new home base. 

I'll try to post a few recipes here and there to share some of what I'm learning and why I keep going back to chef work. 

The fleet moves to Philadelphia

...and lessons about moving with too many bicycles. 
I recently relocated to Philadelphia with, and to be closer to, family. Admittedly attached to my velo fleet, I gave thought to, but ultimately moved with all but a couple of them.
I had some intention of letting this vintage Schwinn go but a certain little girl has grown up since our ride to China camp and has fallen for the old machine. It's outlasted so many of its peers, it may just be pedaling around for decades to come.

While the movers were afraid to damage expensive looking carbon fiber parts with Italian names, they weren't afraid to push, move and otherwise maladjust the group on nearly every bike. I suspect it was out of frustration with packing a dozen bicycles.

My beloved CAAD 8 Campignolo/Shimano "bike you can't build" was the first back in order. I haven't gotten it out on the questionable Philadelphia streets yet but I can tell it's lonely up there on the wall looking like art...

Asmat trophy skull project

What's that, you ask? It's an Asmat trophy skull in the De Young museum Pacific island collection. There are several tribes in the Pacific Rim that keep trophy skulls. Ancestor skulls to be exact. What's the project? Funny you should ask. 

As an anthropology student and field archaeologist this sort of thing fascinates me. Having seen these in museums from Hawaii to D.C. I've been keen to know about them and quietly thought it'd be cool to own one. That poses a problem here and there. Things like, "How did you convince your family to let you keep a human skull in the house?" Or "Wow that thing must have cost a fortune!" and the perennial, "Is that even legal?" are all valid concerns. 

So I decided I should just build one myself from a realistic skull replica, turkey feathers, raffia and other things similar to what Asmat skulls are adorned with. I mean, if the zoo wouldn't keep their cassowaries under such close watch, I'd surely use those feathers but ultimately I'm one of maybe half a dozen people I know globally (surely there are others?) who even know what one of these things is let alone what feathers it should have or even be able to tell the difference between cassowary and turkey feathers. 

So, with this cache of feathers gathered from our place in California, the project begins. Updates to follow. ...maybe there's an Asmat skull cottage industry waiting to emerge. 

Updating a VFR 700

I laid hands on a project VFR700 about a year ago. It wasn't and still isn't quite all there but it's mechanically sound and the obvious issues at this point are cosmetic. 

These iconic V4s were great bikes in the late 80s, the 700 winning bike of the year in spite of being 50cc's smaller than its Canadian and European cousins. Even pushing 80K miles mine has plenty of snap in the throttle. 

OEM fairings are both rare and costly for these machines with new manufacture after market fairings being affordable  but still on the costly side. As irony would have it fairings for the venerable race version, the much sought after RC30, are not only readily available but fall in the inexspensive cataegory. 

With effort it's possible to turn something like my VFR into something like Geof Infield's VFR. 

I've already done some small things, making mechanical repairs, changing mirrors, and updating turn signals. It'll be no simple task but I'm looking forward to putting some new life in this old machine. A V4 just has soul, a sound and feel inline engines don't have and grace at higher RPMs where V-twins rattle things apart. 

Bianchi Sport SS reinvented

The Bianchi Sport I worked over a few years back(similar to the Eco Pista pictured above) turned out to be a great bike. It saw a lot of Nor Cal and even made it into a Blackburn video. While not one of the legendary Bianchi marks, it really is a great riding bike and it is my Bianchi regardless. Alas it suffered a setback when I took an off road shortcut and trashed the wheels beyond repair during the filming of that same Blackburn video. 

The replacement wheels got it back on the road but even with the help of pro mechanics, I never got it dialed in and working well again. I was lucky enough to have a loner bike through Blackburn and then get a couple of other nice late model bikes leading me to mothball the Bianchi. 

As noted, this Bianchi Sport wasn't a high end machine even new but it does have some nice frame tubing that's supposed to be better than the fancy all Italian manufactured bikes of the same era. So, it's both a good candidate for a radical upgrade and far from "ruining" a rare vintage bike. In part this is about realizing ideas I've had for it from the start. It's also an experiment to see how far I can take an old ten speed short of cutting and welding the frame. Turns out you can do a lot and it doesn't have to cost a fortune. 

Since these photos were taken its been through a couple evolutions including an upgrade to a modern stem. That will require an upgrade to different shifters and I finally found a celeste saddle for it. 

Specialized Sequoia

This one is more of a case study for discussion rather than a project post. I needed a more suitable commuter than my CAAD8 or Daily. This Specialized Sequoia is about one frame size smaller than I usually ride, and stock, it wasn't something I wanted to ride but it had promise. That's the point of this case study. It needed a lot of part swapping and some repairs but turned out well.

The first image is my complete(almost) Sequoia, the second is of a stock bike from the Specialized website. As sold, the Sequoia had a clunky adjustable stem, a heavy shock absorber seatpost and a funky comfort saddle. It also had an OK gruppo and a light, rigid frame with a nice carbon fork. In short, it didn't look like much at first but, by not ignoring what it could be, I was able to build a nice bike. It's also not too far off from the Sequoia Pro that sold for about double the price of the Sport model. Even got the bar tape looking decent this time! 

...of course now that it's built the way I want, works well and looks decent, much like my CAAD8, I'm left questioning whether to risk it locked in a rack.

 With the addition of a Tioga style saddle I think it's ready to roll for now. ...at least until I remember where I put those Dura Ace brakes.

Another Globe in the mix!

There's this constant quest for "the" bike, the perfect bike for all applications that more than likely doesn't exist. The more probable solution is accepting the limits of our machines and becoming better riders. Working as a bike messenger in San Francisco provides an opportunity to test bikes and riders on some of the most challenging terrain in the world.

Even on our "insane" hills my Globe Roll 1 has been a favorite. I don't ride it fixed and I do have brakes but even geared high in track bike range, once I got used to it, riding single speed is efficient and fast. Granted, I had a lot more adapting to do than the bike did and on my tired days I grab one of my geared bikes but I've even been able to manage a couple of 100 mile trips with my one lonely gear.

I was predictably excited recently when I added an early model Globe Daily 1 to the mix. Visually different from the Globe Roll series it offers similar ride quality and geometry in a full fender dressed up package complete with front rack, mustache style bars and stem mounted bell. So far it has tackled courier shifts and the back roads of Santa Cruz county earning the moniker "Daily" as it has become a true workhorse and go to utility bike pedaling to and from school, on weekend trips and hops across the Golden Gate for Coast Guard duty. With ample eyelets and lugs on it's sturdy aluminum frame, the Daily stands ready for all manor of racks and accessories begging the question, how feasible is touring on a single speed bike? While 100 mile days would be a chore, the daily would certainly go anywhere a vintage three speed could go. Back in the "good ol days" that was just about everywhere.

There are a handful of things needing upgrading. The brakes work but aren't stellar, the pedals look OK but leave a lot of room for improvement and the rear fender needs regular attention to keep it from rattling loose but those things stack up as minor in the big picture. Overall it's a damn classy bike and like it's Roll counterparts, outperforms nearly every other bike I've encountered in it's style and price range.

Update: About a week and 100 miles after writing this one of the pedals came apart. I replaced the stock pedals with a set of Specialized platform pedals with power straps. They work well but don't quite look right and will be getting another upgrade soon. I have a set of All-City pedals that would look a lot better and maintain the Daily as the one bike in my stable with non-SPDs

Martial skills for EMS

Tonight as I sit here admittedly whining about the vaccinations I got today making my arms ache, I'm contemplating gentle submission techniques to present to EMT students tomorrow. Our lead instructor has police and SWAT experience with a lot of very "real world" stress testing. That noted, I'm coming up with a small number of value added items to augment the standards. I'll be digging deep on this one to come up with things both simple and effective that are less likely to cause harm.

It's been a while since I gave my Oni Kai Aikido blog any attention but this may provide material and an interesting direction for a few posts. While I maintain that Aikido is about the longest path to field applicable combat skills a person could choose, it is effective none the less. 

I miss my days of nearly living in dojos and being immersed in this stuff. Maybe a new evolution for Oni Kai is in order. I can certainly think of less noble applications for martial systems. 

Lighting for carnivorous plants

A while back I wrote a post about a project I did at Instructables.com putting together a carnivorous plant terrarium. It was fun, it looked great and it was a much bigger learning experience than I could have imagined. I learned about the plants, terrariums, the soil for those same plants that is certainly on the tricky side as is the water. It mostly just needs to be as "clean" as possible, meaning both chemical and nutrient free. Dissolved mineral content in soil and water will readily kill otherwise healthy carnivorous plants. This is probably why they are a seasonal or temporary curiosity for most people. A few months in and the plants mysteriously die or for other seemingly unpredictable reasons they do fine and keep on going. Even educated growers often experience difficulty rearing these finicky bug eating wonders.

Someone over at Instructables commented recently asking about lighting. I don't think I really addressed that issue in my how to or the subsequent how to on soil for carnivorous plants. Mine lived in a big jar in a sunny window where they had bright light most of the day. A lot of us don't have access to those conditions, including me now that I am no longer with Instructables.

Luckily, carnivorous plants do well with artificial lighting so even basement dwellers can put together a lovely hungry garden. There is even a fantastically detailed article on the International Carnivorous Plant Society website that explains the lumens, color temperature and hours per day the plants need. There are many commonly available lighting setups or you could just buy LEDs and build your own. With the ease of controlling LEDs with Arduinos and Raspberry Pie microcomputers you could automate the whole thing from lighting to temp and hydrometers. Though, a lot of people have great luck stuffing the plants in a jar and setting them on a handy window sill.

As always, it's hard to beat "doing" as the best way to learn.

Shibori Scarves

 So, the scarves turned out well. A little less precise than I've accomplished in the past but I've typically had the proverbial "all the time in the world" and only done a couple of pieces at once. Most of shibori is in the prep work, something that can be done over time if you plan ahead but after a summer of it in Japan and a bit of it now and again I'm not sure I want to devote a ton of time to it, and that's pretty much what it takes.

I do love indigo and I'll likely find further reasons to do dye batches of one kind or another. Between the "developing" effect of the dye when it hits oxygen and the stunningly deep, organic blues, it's really hard to beat real indigo. Somewhat endangered, imagine that another heirloom technology, it's still fairly easy to obtain. Something, I think ought to be taught in schools, it'd make a fantastic chemistry project, art or home economics; not to mention History (note the capital H).

The next thing I'd really like to approach is woad, another ancient plant dye. I've found the materials but it looks to be a bit more complex than indigo and certainly more so than something like Rit dye that can simply be mixed in a bucket or washing machine without a lot of fuss.

This batch of scarves will be up in the Susan Howell gallery at 1987 Hyde St in Russian hill for another month or so and then I'll either find them homes in a little more personal way or put them up on Etsy, who knows?

If anyone is of a mind, let me know and I'll run an indigo workshop where we can explore the dye itself as well as basic shibori.

Shibori

Just prepped the cloth for a small batch of heavy cotton scarves. I'll be doing an Indigo dye treatment with Japanese shibori methods I learned while living in Japan.
They will be shown and for sale at the Susan Howell gallery in San Frsncisco.
Look for a post with production shots and the finished scarves!

New Photo Blog Post

Got some great shots in Muir Woods! Check out the post on my photo blog. Can't begin to describe how much fun this shoot was.

http://jtbarnhart.blogspot.com/2011/11/smoke-jumpers.html

Microworlds at SFMOMA!

Dropped by SFMOMA today, actually was in the neighborhood, and got to see Microworlds happily on display in the gift shop. I know it's not like my work is in the gallery space but it was a thrill to experience. They were even nice enough to let me take a couple of quick photos of the book on display. 

Humbled, flattered and beside myself just not know what to think about it but knowing that it feels great to have that kind of presence and recognition. I was also able to get the proper contacts to work out some sort of book signing. If it comes together I'll be posting about that as well. 

I'm now feeling guilty about not being more on the ball in giving the photography it's own blog already. Though there is a Facebook page in place now with a new website on it's way in the coming months as well as the announcement of new projects and even a few teaser images for one that I'm sure will be an immense amount of fun and a huge personal challenge for me. Fun, challenging, what's not to like? 

So, stay tuned for updates on a signing at the MOMA or another venue in the near future!