I’m not sure what sparked my passion for blacksmithing, but it has always been something that I found intriguing. I started out by building a small concrete charcoal forge from an aluminum trash can. A few renditions later I designed and built a propane forge with burners reaching upwards of 2600 degrees Fahrenheit. Pursuing this interest independently has required me to research and learn about the physics of combustion and metallurgical properties. Even if I never do anything professionally, there is something so satisfying about putting an idea onto paper and then translating that onto a piece of immovable steel through a swirling tempest of flames and the blows of a hammer.