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Agricultural Pot Racks
Reclaimed steel from a well-weathered packer finds new purpose in these straight hanging kitchen racks with a variety of hooks. Reminiscent of a traditional sleigh runner pot rack, these pieces are the result of a collaborative project with my grandfather. Three hanging kitchen racks combine the delicate curves of hand forged hooks with the heavy…
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Dr. ‘Smith in the House
The good doctor dropped by for an impromptu hammer-in to welcome the new year and created an objet d’art for his wife.
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Lilac Handled Kiri
A hand planed lilac handled traditional Japanese hand drill for woodworking operations requiring fine control. This piece was the answer to a need for a woodworking project we were creating for our home. The agricultural steel came from my great grandfather’s tractor shop in northern Alberta and the handle is a hand planed lilac branch…
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ThirtyOne Penny Spoon
Made from an old nail and a copper disc, this tiny spoon showcases the beauty of two reclaimed materials in juxtaposition. This little sugar spoon is by far the smallest I have ever made. It was inspired by the tiny piece of scrap copper that a friend brought into the shop today. At first I…
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Integral Ring Knife
An early piece revisited; a traditional patterned small companion knife made from a piece of reclaimed agricultural tool steel. For those interested in collecting an earlier work, this is new old stock; one of my few remaining “first round” pieces still available for purchase. Proceeds will go towards the expense of setting up the new…
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Workshop Swivel Light
Made from reclaimed parts and hand forged iron, a simple hanging lamp that effortlessly swivels 180 degrees and adjusts vertically. The light is made from a vintage enameled shade, a discarded socket, and a piece of extension cord wire, and wrought iron. The original plan was to hang it from a swivel arm that spanned…
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Workshop Door Hook
A simple hook and eye system serves double duty to hold the doors to each other when closed or held open against the wind. A hook and retaining eye is pounded through the door, and two separate eyes, one for open and one for the closed position are hammered into an appropriate location and through…
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Forged Copper Pendant
Hand-hammered and coiled, hand-tanned deerskin with upcycled electrical wire from a house built in the 1940’s, natural patina finish. This was the first piece I forged from the short length of reno copper that came out of a house by the beach in Qualicum. I was experimenting with hand polished rust pigment finishes when the…
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Workshop Door Hinges
Simple, traditional strap and butterfly hinge combination from heavy stock to support the solid wood blacksmith shop doors. The island workshop doors are built of reclaimed ship lap and other scrap wood, nailed together, and braced with a hand chiseled mortise. The wood had been outside for some time and is still heavy with moisture…
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Charcoal Retort Day 5
A standard burn for version 1.0 took an unexpected turn, likely due to the wear of high heat on some of the structural steel. We loaded the retort with some excellent construction cut offs, this time thanks to Tim and his crew at Bayshore Construction Inc., and sealed it up as usual. The one difference…
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Bush Forged J-hooks
Using the excess heat from the charcoal making process, a delicate pair of hooks formed with nothing but a hammer and anvil. While enjoying our backyard charcoal making party, a suggestion was made to haul out the old anvil and conduct some “bush forging” out in the wilderness. This lovely pair of hooks were the…
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Charcoal Retort Day 4
The weather was great and today’s burn was like a party with everyone out to help chop wood, fuel the fire, and roast marshmallows. The official version 1.0 of the charcoal retort was based on the 0.9 design but incorporated a better airflow design via a grate and used bricks rather than logs as a…
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Island Workshop Open!
Following the preliminary experiments with the charcoal retort, it was time to make a fire and start hammering again, island style.
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Charcoal Retort Day 3
Take two on the charcoal retort in an attempt to get the burn temperature higher and complete the process of charcoal formation. The first attempt was promising but seemed to take too long to get to operating temperature and did not stay there long enough. So rather than stand the drum on the ground, I…
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Charcoal Retort Day 2
The results of the first attempted burn of the D.I.Y. charcoal retort were not as impressive as expected but seem to be on the right track. Yesterday morning I picked up some nice cut-offs of spruce, cedar, and fir from Chris and his crew who were more than willing to assist with my experiment. I…