During the Vietnam War and other conflicts, the country of Laos was virtually saturated by bombs. We were warned not to travel off paths in some places, such as the Plain of Jars, for fear of unexploded ordinance. This image is import to me not only because of the handforging of a knife. But also, because the work bench here is a shell casing. I hate war, but I find hope in the fact that thirty years after a major conflict, I am able to travel in a country we were at war in, and am warmly welcomed. But also, as symbolized by the casing being used as a tool, that the people and the country are moving on. The war is a rusty shell but still there, still in memory. Here is what the knife will look like when it is finished: Knives.