Blacksmith Portfolio

Enjoy some pictures of my creations I’ve forged in my blacksmith portfolio. I don’t take pictures of everything I make (that would be a job unto itself!), but I do try and get some shots of things that are a bit different or items that are above and beyond normal quality. Also there’s pictures of custom work I’ve done.

For the everyday stuff that I forge and sell you can see those items in the shop.

Everything you see in this portfolio is hand forged. No two items are identical. Similar yes, but never identical as hand forging isn’t a precise process but that’s what makes everything unique and one of a kind.

Terminology

Just some quick terminology and explanations for things you’ll see below in the portfolio.

Chamfer – When the edges of an object are hammered so they aren’t so square. This usually products a clean angled line.
Mild Steel – This is common steel used for a wide variety of things from construction to welding to of course blacksmithing. Unless noted otherwise, all items I forge are of mild steel.
Volute – This is when something curls into itself. You’ll most often see them below on the ends of things like hooks and handles.

Fire & Grill Tools

Andirons

These andirons were done as a commission for a customer who liked the ones his sister has. He took pictures and gave me measurements. I then reproduced them based on that info.

These are 18″ deep and measure about 19″ tall. These are forged out of 1″ square bar for the back and 1/2″ x 1 1/2″ for the face. These are super solid.

Evaporator Rake

I was contacted by Maple Rush Sugar House to forge them an evaporator rake. Their evaporator is long and they needed something that could reach in, break up the ash, and have them not burn their hands. This was my solution.

Branding Irons

This client wanted to do a southwestern themed entry area with decorative branding irons to hang on the wall. I had never done anything like that, but seeing as they were decorative only I figured it would be a fun project – and it was.

Wood Stove Handle

This client needed to replace a broken cast iron wood stove handle. It’s used for the stove top lids to lift and move them. I set about replicating it as best I could. The nice part of steel over cast iron is it won’t snap.

Kitchenwares

Colonial Spatula

A Civil War reenactor commissioned me to make him a Colonial style spatula. He also wanted a reverse twist on there. While it’s not a traditional Colonial spatula it’s definitely in the style – just with more flare.

Gardening & Outdoors

All the fun things you need to enjoy the outside!

Garden Trowel

I made this for my wife from a railroad spike. This was my first time attempting anything like this and I was happy with the results considering my inexperience at the time.

Gun Rack

I forged this for a local Civil War reenactor. I made 8 hooks and 2 stakes. The customer added a 2″x2″ piece of wood between the two stakes and added the hooks to it. I think it looks amazing all done and setup.

Sign Hanger

A local floral artist had a sign made for her and she commissioned me to make her a sign hanger. This was the first time I’ve forged anything like this and I had a great time and also learned a lot. This was my first big commission and remains one of my favorite projects.

Quadruple Ridge Pole Hanger

I have some ridge pole hangers in the shop, but this customer wanted a quadruple one (2 hooks per-side). This is for another Civil War reenactor so you can see it all setup in his tent. I do have standard ridge pole hangers in my shop or contact me for something like this.

Home Decor & Decorative Items

In this section you’ll find various items to decorate your house or simply decorative items for anything you’d like.

Branch

Yep! A branch! The client was using an actual branch over her stove to hang some decorative tiles from. She asked if I could make a metal branch and that’s just what I did.

My big goal here was to get a realistic texture to look like wood. I realize branches aren’t generally this textured but sometimes you have to overdo it a bit to drive it home. I lightly sanded it after to get the texture to really show.

Cabinet Knobs and Drawer Pulls

This was a large commission for 103 cabinet knobs and 56 drawer pulls. The client was building a home and these were to be used throughout the entire home. It was quite the project that took me months to complete but I was very happy with the results.

Cabinet Handles

These cabinet handles were part of a custom order where 22 were needed. The customer wanted simple and they needed to fit a standard 3″ hole distance for 18 of them and a 3 1/2″ distance for 4 of the handles.

The customer wanted each handle to be unique. So instead of bending these all with a jig to get a nice uniform look, each handle was done entirely by hand. Also the feet (where the screw goes) you’ll notice aren’t perfectly uniform either. I didn’t aim for perfect on these to accomplish that distinct look with each handle.

Here’s some before and after shots from cheap store bought handles to solid steel hand-forged handles.

Charcuterie Board Handles

I did a commission for a local woodworker who makes charcuterie boards and cutting boards. I made him 6 sets of handles: 3 painted and distressed, 3 with a forged finish.

Coffee Table Legs

This was a fun commission for coffee table legs. The customer wanted something organic and nature related. We tossed around some ideas and landed on what you see. The idea being it’s like a tree’s growth rings. I added a wood-like texture to the vertical pieces for some visual interest. Whenever I do added detail like this, I distress it to really make the dimensional texture apparent.

The customer will finish the live edge top. In the pictures I just set it on top of the legs. So if things look a bit off, it’s that coupled with trying to stand this on grass.

Copper Kick Plate for a Door

This customer wanted a copper kick plate done for his door. This measured 5″ tall by 35″ long. A relatively simple project; mostly a labor of time. The client was nice enough to send me some pictures of it installed as well.

Feed Scoop Handles

A local construction company reached out to me about creating feed scoop handles for exterior doors on two Blue Seal Farms stores. Never having done anything of this nature I figured why not give it my best shot? It’s in those moments of being uncomfortable making something that you grow as an artist.

These handles are 7″ wide and around 8″ tall and forged with solid steel.

Lantern Hanger

Admittedly this was forged as a plant hanger. However, the customer decided to use it to hang a lantern from and I think it looks great!

Pot Rack

This heavy duty pot rack was an interesting one and I did a lot of things I had never done. The design is very unique and something the client asked for. I love how this came out and I’m sure it looks amazing in the kitchen.

Reverse Twist Handles

Two handles I did for someone with a reverse twist.

Shelving Brackets with Twisted Cross Section

These brackets are for 8″ shelves and are made of 3/4″ wide, 1/4″ thick mild steel. With the cross section, which isn’t just for decoration, these will hold up to a lot of weight.

Each cross section is fastened with a traditional blacksmith rivet so it’s not only functional but decorative.

Swivel Arm for Wood Stove

I had a lot of fun with this one. The client needed an arm to hang their kids wet clothing on after playing outside in the snow. This would be wall mounted and needed to swing out of the way when not in use and have hooks for the clothing.

Wine Rack

This commission for a wine rack needed to fit an existing space. The customer wanted something simple but also wanted scrolls and leaves. The piece was all assembled with traditional joinery (rivets and tenons) so there was no modern day welding involved. I love using traditional joinery because it adds charm to the piece and shows it was hand-forged.

Miscellaneous

Blood Bowl Trophy

A friend of mine asked me to make a trophy for Blood Bowl which is a tabletop miniature game. The game has a fantasy setting and it’s American football but devastatingly brutal. Picture Orcs, Goblins, Trolls, etc. all smashing each other while trying to get a football across the field.

This was a game I played a lot before I got into blacksmithing so I knew exactly what I wanted the trophy to look like.