The symbolism in a circle is without beginning or end. Circles are often evoked and reflected upon in religious ceremonies, in weddings and funerals for good reason.  And do you know that Rilke poem about living life in widening circles - love that one.  Whatever you find helpful in the shape of a circle add to that the richness of knowing that this circle is a beaten gun barrel and has an olive branch stamped into it. This circle is not perfect. This circle has one shiny smooth side and one darker rougher side. We as a community made this gun and we as a community chose to dismantle this gun; it’s come full circle. Where will we create next?

Hard to believe it’s been 5 years since Mike & Shane’s book Beating Guns came out and 10 years ago since they started RAWtools. This is a nod to those guys and all the barrels they have beaten over the years.  

This is a short cut off of a barrel that we “upset” (blacksmith term for stacking metal back onto itself.) The pendants that look more like washers were cut with something close to parallel sides, and then the barrel was smooshed down. The pendants that look more wonky are from slices of a barrel that have been cut at an angle, so when that metal gets upset on the “tall” end, it makes for a fatter side of the circle. Because the ATF has us always cut guns up at an angle (and most of our tools it’s better to start with a square end), we would cut this little niblet off. And because my father was raised in the depression and we were never allowed to waste anything, it occurred to me to mush (aka upset) these bits and string them up as links to all the progress that is happening at RAWtools.