Randy McDaniel began forging metal in 1972 after taking a class from an 81-year-old blacksmith, an experience that sparked a lifelong passion for the craft. He learned from retired smiths, craft schools, libraries, and conferences, and in 1987 traveled to England to study ironwork and attend the British Artist Blacksmith Association's International Conference. In 1988, he was baptized as a master smith by Manfred Bredhol of Aachen, Germany.Randy has taught basic and advanced blacksmithing workshops since 1975 at colleges, craft schools, and regional blacksmithing groups, and has lectured and demonstrated at international conferences in the U.S. and Canada. He specializes in work using the hydraulic forging press and creates all of his own tooling and dies.He is the author and illustrator of A Blacksmithing Primer: A Course in Basic and Intermediate Blacksmithing, widely used worldwide to teach forging skills. He is also the author of the young adult novel The Glint in the Dragon's Eye: A Blacksmith's Journey, a coming-of-age story blending craft, creativity, and gentle mythic elements. Randy teaches at the Expressive Metals School of Blacksmithing in West Virginia.