Elijah has been familiar with historic trades from a very young age - his grandfather has worked long term in historic restoration and 18th century reproductions. When Elijah was 16, he and his brother worked with their grandfather over a summer and he had a chance to briefly work with some blacksmiths, which turned out to be a pivotal experience. After high school Elijah went to tech school for welding and machining, with the idea of eventually getting into blacksmithing. After working as a machinist for a few years, he was ready for a change. He discovered the Axe and Anvil YouTube channel, and realized that we were roughly in the same area of Tennessee. He purchased a froe from our online store, and asked if he could come and help with the forging. It took months to coordinate, but Elijah finally made it out, he and Jordan forged the froe and became fast friends that day. After that, Elijah began coming out on weekends and helping with forging as well as shop improvements. Eventually he decided to quit his machining job and move on to becoming an apprentice with Jordan at Axe and Anvil. Since then his skill has steadily improved as he has taken over more and more of our basic product line, leaving Jordan free to work on more specialized forging.

Elijah and his wife Alli have one daughter, Abigail, as well as a baby boy due in 2025, and have interests in homesteading, 18th century living history, natural leather tanning, and historic building.