July 6, 2008

Bill Moran Jr. is considered to be the father of the American Bladesmith movement and leader in the reemergence of forging Damascus steel. He began making knives as a young boy in the late 1930s, and, in 1976, he helped found the American Bladesmith Society. The Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing was founded in 1988 on the grounds of Historic Washington State Park in Hempstead County. Moran taught at least one class each year before his retirement in 2001. He is shown here (front row, with cane) with one of those classes.