My friend Julia Sexton is back and I’m glad. She is an incredible food writer and Editor in Chief of Edible Manhattan, Edible Brooklyn. Edible Hudson Valley and Edible Westchester. Dedicated to food writing and the restaurant biz Julia is the last of a dying breed. TikTok food reviews and social media influencers are the new delivery system for the masses to find out where to go out for something to eat. Are the days of thoughtful food reviews gone? Not if Julia has anything to say about it. We ...
Dec 01, 2022•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 132
As a young boy alone, listening to the radio I used to love the episodes when radio hosts would go on holiday vacation and have a fill in. So I started having my two friends Ben Snure and Jonathan Porter on and we’d fool around for a Black Friday show. We should be having Thanksgiving with our families and were recording a podcast instead. Perfect. This is the 3rd year of this tradition and unfortunately JP was having Technical issues that made him have to bow out this year. He was missed and we...
Nov 25, 2022•1 hr 53 min•Ep. 131
I’m honored to talk to my great friend and podcasting partner on Knife Talk, Craig Lockwood about the debut of his new Single: “This Town”. You are reading that correctly.. Knife Maker, podcaster and now Recording Artist…Craig is a man of many talents and had the bucket list opportunity to record at the legendary studio Rockfield; home to Queen, David Bowie, Ozzy Osborn, Oasis, Coldplay and many more. How did this happen? We got into the anatomy of his song “This Town”, and got to hear the devel...
Nov 18, 2022•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 130
Jesse & Butch are 2 knife makers out of Pennsylvania who I’ve known for a while and gotten to hang out with at Makercamp. Part of a great group of makers around Philadelphia I wanted to some perspective on the end of the World Series with the Phillies as an incredible underdog story. After being counted out this season, the Phillies kept advancing in the post season past the Cardinals then the favorited Atlanta Braves its hard not to root for the underdog. Philadelphia is an undo city and we...
Nov 11, 2022•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 129
Vince and Ryan are the owners of Brodbeck Ironworks, one of the fastest growing Grinder companies around today. I met them both a few years ago and have been a fan of them and their company for a while. Both mechanical engineers and knife makers they met as competitors on the TV phenomenon “Forged in Fire” on similar paths. It was a fascinating conversation on who they are how they met and what are the chances that meeting on FIF would create this partnership. Fast forward to Brodbeck grinders a...
Nov 04, 2022•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 128
Kev Slattery and I have been friends on Instagram when I first started making knives. A leader in Austrailan bladesmithing , Kev has been a huge part of the kindness, supportive and generous nature this community exemplifies while also and giving back by teaching and creating a very popular podcast with a cult following. We had a great catch up talking about our first meeting at Bladeshow, Australian knifemaking and the unique podcast he is a co-host of called “Knife Making Down Under”. We also ...
Oct 28, 2022•1 hr 56 min•Ep. 127
The Full Blast Podcast has a wide berth for conversation and interviews. Sometimes serious, thought provoking and insightful- then there are episodes like this one. Ben Snure is hilarious and that’s just what the doctor ordered. I always love catching up with Ben, telling stories and reading weird stories I find on the internet. The first half we talked about what’s going on in our lives and hit on some current issues then the second half was just unnecessary- Cheating scandals, 100 year old soi...
Oct 21, 2022•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 126
This past week I had the honor of once again of attending the Catskill Mountain Makers Camp in East Durham NY. Blacksmiths, woodworkers, artists and makers convene there for fellowship and general making. Tools, techniques and tricks galore with so many disciplines and things to see it can be over whelming. One of the highlights is that Photographer Mark Adams takes amazing portraits of all the attendees and captures excitement, enthusiasm and probably some other things I’ll get into with him wh...
Oct 14, 2022•1 hr 59 min•Ep. 125
Andrew Alexander is back and I’m grateful for it. Last week I had to end the episode in a panic because the service we used said after an hour: “You have 5 minutes of recording time left before the recording stops”. Needless to say I was disappointed. And panicked. So I ended it abruptly with my guest Andrew Alexander just as we were getting warmed up. AA is a gem. I asked if he wanted to suffer though another episode with me and he was happy to give it another shot. And it was worth it. Usually...
Oct 07, 2022•1 hr 52 min•Ep. 124
When it comes to the appreciation for Anvils, tools and their history, its hard to find someone as knowledgable, articulate and compelling as Andrew Alexander. @Blacksmithtools returns for another fun filled conversation about the ongoing conversation I’ve been having with my guests about “The role of the modern day Blacksmith” and where blacksmithing fits in to the times we live in. We talked about how history has made the direction of the craft pivot; even suggesting anvil companies may have p...
Sep 30, 2022•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 123
As far as Metal Artists go, David Madero has reached some incredible heights. Making giant public Art and incredibly expressive work David has found his voice in Steel. His father was a metal sculptor and brought David’s older brother into the shop to help with the fabrication of art. A 4 year old David was compelled to follow and help. These formative years gave him the technique and training to figure out how to express himself. We had a great talk about the love of Gas Welding and how “the we...
Sep 23, 2022•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 122
I’d say Jesse Savage is man from another time.. His knowledge on Anvils, forging and history is impressive. He and his wife Carrie are a wonderful couple who run a weekend Forging workshop at the Center of Metal Arts as well. Catching up with Jesse is always good. We recorded on 9/11 so we talked a little about that. We also talked about the passing of Richard Postman, author of the most comprehensive book on Anvils called “Anvils in America”. The past present and possible Future of forging and ...
Sep 16, 2022•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 121
I had the distinct honor of returning to the Center for Metal Arts in Johnstown PA to teach a weekend work shop and I brought a microphone to have another conversation with CMA’s Executive Director Pat Quinn. I was lucky enough to catch John Williams after finishing up a week long Tong Making class he taught with Pat. I’ve known John for years online and it was great to finally meet after years of admiring him as an extraordinary blacksmith, toolmaker and craftsman. They talked about teaching to...
Sep 09, 2022•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 120
I met Henry Hyde of Hyde Handmade Knives at The Center for Metal Arts last spring and he was humble, soft spoken when he wanted to be and confident and hilarious too. Always fast with a clever and timely joke, and very reverential towards his hosts, his cohorts and his teachers Henry forged with intention. Henry is an incredibly talented Bladesmith who found his way into knifemaking after being miserable in the restaurant world. Learning from Quintin Middleton, Henry found his way from Charlesto...
Sep 02, 2022•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 119
The Realest Cowboy I know, Ben Snure returns to the show and its always good. We talked about some of the forging he’s been doing lately and how he’s evolving as a blacksmith. Ben had some insane Mountain Lion stories from his family and we went off-road and dove into some weird news which is always fun. Ben rules and is one of my favorite people to talk to. Thanks again my buddy- GF Follow Ben on instagram https://www.instagram.com/bensnure/ Follow Full Blast and interact with the show on Insta...
Aug 26, 2022•1 hr 56 min•Ep. 118
Mark Peacock (@deer_river_craftsman on Instagram) returns to the podcast on the heels of joining us in Barcelona for our Knifemaking Workshop at Florentine Kitchen Knives. Mark is a skilled woodworker with a few blacksmithing classes under his belt he made an awesome knife with us and it was fun to see how his skills translated to knifemaking and how it changed the way he sees his own work. We also talked about his future and answered questions on the basics of knifemaking. Fun time as usual. We...
Aug 19, 2022•1 hr 47 min•Ep. 117
I remember as a young boy, the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. It was a bizarre time as an American seeing the pomp and circumstance of a Royal Wedding. When I heard Onur Caglar and his fiancé Emma Whitaker on the Fire and Steel Podcast I thought it would be fun to cover their impending wedding. We had a great time catching up with Emma and Onur, talked about the plans and what’s on the horizon for the future Caglars. Emma is the Artist and owner of Allegory Tattoo Scarborough an...
Aug 12, 2022•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 116
Keith Johnson AKA @kjsawdust returns for a little catch up. Before I started Full Blast I asked Keith if he wanted to do a podcast as a cohost. The timing didn’t work out but we thought about it. Keith is also a big fan of Talk radio and we had a lot in common. Good thing he didn’t. He’s now on a great podcast called Shop Sounds with Nick Key and Jason Hibbs -check it out. We had a great time talking about business having to adapt on social media, we talked about the restaurant biz a little and ...
Aug 05, 2022•1 hr 56 min•Ep. 115
I’ve been extremely fortunate to be here in Barcelona, Spain as a guest of my dear friends Tomer and Noam, owners of Florentine Kitchen Knives to co-teach a knifemaking workshop for the second time. And as we had a little time before my flight home, we recorded an episode that would have been completely different if we talked in the beginning of the trip. After spending a few days with Tomer and walking the streets, seeing the people and eating the extraordinary food I really saw the influence B...
Jul 29, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 114
Benjamin Kamon of Kamon Knives is an Austrian Blademith whose work has graced the cover of Blade Magazine and is held in high regard in the knife making community. When you look at his work the design decisions he makes are beautiful, elegant and well thought out. The contrast between forged blade and mechanically fastened handle are stunning and must come from his experiences between being a mechanic working on huge trucks and his time as blacksmith fabricating railings and ornamental iron. We ...
Jul 22, 2022•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 113
Meet Tansu is back and we had a great conversation. Owner and Bladesmith of Tansu Knives and Hunter Valley Blades, Mert has a unique perspective in the knife making game. Born in Turkey, he moved to the US as a chef, met his wife in the hospitality business and decided to take a chance on living in Australia for a bit. Life was good and the slower pace allowed for more free time. So after years of collecting and using knives Meat had the opportunity to take a class and his rise as a world class ...
Jul 16, 2022•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 112
Back by popular demand, one of the greatest character to ever grace the Emerald Isles Fingal Ferguson is back in the saddle again!!! We had a great time talking about the award winning short documentary He and some of his fellow Irish Knifemakers were in called “The Small Steps”. It was interesting diving deeper into the relationship he and these talented craftsmen have and their connection to Bladesmith legend Bob Loveless. We talked BBQ and cooking for the masses, ethical dilemmas and the futu...
Jul 07, 2022•1 hr 52 min•Ep. 111
This Crossover is actually kind of a part 2. Last week I was on the Work For it Podcast with Brian House and Bryan Kohn and we had a fun time there. The episode is titled “Blast off with Geoff Feder” and feel free to listen to it before this one. But you’ll get what’s going on if you don’t. I listen to the Work for it Podcast every thursday and enjoy it so you should too. This episode was interesting because we touched on an issue that’s going on in the maker community and I was completely un aw...
Jul 01, 2022•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 110
Leah Aripotch returns to the show and we dive deep into metal sculpture. Leah is an incredible artist known for painstaking detail and beautiful forged and fabricated nightmarish botanical pieces. Leah has grabbed the attention of the the knife making world including her recent sculptural collaboration with Bladesmith Joshua Prince and most recently, taking home “The Best Collaboration” Award at this year Blade Show with Bladesmith Seth Lopez. Then we talked about the complete story behind the S...
Jun 24, 2022•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 109
We’re back with a blockbuster episode! I’m joined this week with Will Stelter JS, James Fleming JS, Matt Stagmer JS, and the Mysterious Nick Rossi MS! We all got together to recap the most recent Blade Show where they were all testing for for the American Bladesmith Society’s Journeyman Smith and in Nick’s case, Mastersmith. They all told their stories on why the decided to test, the stresses in preparing for testing and their takeaways from the experience. It’s an extremely unique insight into ...
Jun 17, 2022•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 108
This episode of the Downward Spiral was recorded in 2012 When Niko Tavernise and I were regularly going to either his porch or my shop with a bottle of booze and recording an episode. This particular episode Niko was working on the film Noah with Russell Crow(see I knew who it was) Back from filming in Iceland, we just wanted to shoot the breeze, tell funny stories and fool around. This ep is interesting because it recounts a story from the last time I installed Public Art. I had a bad experienc...
Jun 10, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 107
This episode of the Downward Spiral was recorded in 2012 When Niko Tavernise and I were regularly going to either his porch or my shop with a bottle of booze and recording an episode. This particular episode we were joined by my great friend Tony Aiazzi who is now my business partner at Feder Knives. We had just had dinner and got the microphone. It was a lot of fun talking restaurant biz and our stories from back in the day. This was before I ever made a knife and I think I had just left CMA an...
Jun 03, 2022•2 hr 7 min•Ep. 106
Matt Stagmer is back and on the road to test for the Journeyman Smith designation from the American Bladesmith Society (ABS). It’s no easy feat; even though Matt has made thousands of swords and knives the 5 he’s working on to submit have to be the best he ever made. We had a great conversation talking about how the process is going and how its influencing how he makes knives now. Will he will be under more scrutiny because of his wildly popular Youtube Channel: That Works or the years being on ...
May 30, 2022•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 105
2 years ago I didn’t think i’d have put out 104 episodes every week without a break. Consistent shows that get better and better. Amazing guests, and interesting conversations with makers from all over the place. This week I thought I’d celebrate with Mareko Maumasi and Craig Lockwood, the co-hosts of Knife Talk Podcast: The Number 1 Knife related Podcast on this germ infested planet(I started saying that years ago and It’s still funny) Craig And Mareko are outstanding and we’ve been doing episo...
May 20, 2022•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 104
Andrew Alexander is funny, compelling and full of great stories with excellent flair. Falling in love with forging, Andrew started collecting tools and has become one of the most knowledgable facilitators of restored metalworking equipment in the United States. We had a great conversation about some of his adventures buying metal shops, crossing boarders and his greatest purchase. We compared Culinary school stories, talked about the future in an American made Power hammer company and the potent...
May 13, 2022•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 103
