Axe and Anvil Hand Works

Axe and Anvil Hand Works Full-time blacksmithing shop offering traditional & bespoke ironwork. We are passionate about keepin
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Will I see you at Handworks? This event is unparalleled- possibly in the globe, and there will be vendors from as far aw...
08/30/2026

Will I see you at Handworks? This event is unparalleled- possibly in the globe, and there will be vendors from as far away as Australia and Europe. I had a booth at the last one in 2023, and it promises to be even bigger and better this go round. Go check out Handworks.co for more information and to see the lineup of vendors. Admission is free too! If you like old tools, hand tool woodworking, or anything like that, you should head to Iowa this weekend! Bring your wallets-even if there’s nothing in them, because it’s not just a great place to pick up tools, it is a great place to try them out. Check out for pics of last time.

The top and bottom boards of the bellows got painted yesterday, with Ottosson English Red linseed oil paint. These are t...
08/30/2026

The top and bottom boards of the bellows got painted yesterday, with Ottosson English Red linseed oil paint. These are the the only wood parts of the bellows that will get painted. I have two sets of antique bellows in my collection, one from the 1830s and one from sometime later in the 19th century, and they were both painted this shade of red originally. Gonna look really good against the black leather and hand forged tacks.

08/30/2026

Making sure the valve seat in the bellows bottom board is flat. Bellows project is rocking along. I’m copying an antique bellows that I have that dates from the 1830s, and it is so handy to have it for a pattern.

08/29/2026

Wish I had paid more attention to all those videos of boatbuilders setting rivets with roves. These rivets are holding the heavy wooden parts of the bellows I am building together. It is incredibly nice for this project to have an antique set of bellows (that was untouched before I tore it apart) to copy.

08/22/2026

I’ve been forging these bellows tacks in two heats as in this video- but after over 100 of them I think I am getting really close to being able to do them in one heat consistently. Starting stock is 3/8” square, and each tack uses about 3/4” of it. Pretty major transformation. These tacks are exact copies of those found on my antique bellows from the 1830s.

All of our nail seconds by the pound (available on our website) are gonna come with these awesome labels from now on- an...
08/21/2026

All of our nail seconds by the pound (available on our website) are gonna come with these awesome labels from now on- and eventually, we will be offering various No. 1 grade nails in bulk and with similar labeling as well. A pound of handmade nails is pretty pricey, so we will probably also offer 1/2 pound options as well. If you’ve bought nail seconds before, and want one of these cool labels, send me a message with your address and after confirming your previous order I will send you a label or two. Huge thanks to Wonder Woman Atlanta for her careful art and design work here. The drawing was done by hand, scanned and shrunk to fit the label. I told her folks would probably want to buy prints of the full size watercolor and ink drawing- she just laughed.

Last week, crossed_timbers_forge and I made a quick trip down into Alabama to get a small load (2-1/2 tons) of metallurg...
08/20/2026

Last week, crossed_timbers_forge and I made a quick trip down into Alabama to get a small load (2-1/2 tons) of metallurgical coal to try from a new source. I use coal forges exclusively in my shop, and have found that the quality of the coal you have can really affect your quality of life, and even your work on occasion. I just finished off a six-ton batch of coal that was high ash and high sulfur- the sulfur content resulting in objectionable fumes and dust, and a major increase in corrosion in the shop. The sulfur also makes forge welding more difficult- not fun, and the high ash with a low fusion temperature results in lots of tuyere-clogging clinker. Alabama has some of the very best metallurgical grade coal in the world- and I am actively hunting for sources that will sell me some of the good stuff by the dump truck load. It’s really tough though, as most of the mines deal with customers who buy thousands (if not tens of thousands) of tons per month, and I am small fry. My plan is to keep hunting for the good stuff though, and to make it available in bags and in bulk too at some point- try to become a convenient source for high quality blacksmithing coal in the South.

It’s been ten years since I built my first blacksmithing shop: a 10’x10’ three-sided shed, with a slanted concrete floor...
08/13/2026

It’s been ten years since I built my first blacksmithing shop: a 10’x10’ three-sided shed, with a slanted concrete floor (hastily poured from leftovers from our house build). It is crazy that I started a business and career in this little shed- and even crazier that it was only two and a half years later that I went full time as a blacksmith and began building a bigger shop around this one. God had truly been good. Photo cred to ljgraubner

“Thus at the flaming forge of lifeOur fortunes must be wrought;Thus on its sounding anvil shapedEach burning deed and th...
08/12/2026

“Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought!” -Longfellow

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1433 US-64
Waynesboro, TN
38485

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