We believe our shop production process should reflect our values. The Axe & Anvil shop focuses on processes controlled by human hands instead of machines - making our shop experience more hospitable both for the ourselves and our occasional visitors, and also allowing us to infuse into each piece that is produced in our shop a level of uniqueness, human energy, and personality that a computerized machine simply can’t replicate. So while we do use some basic power tools such as drills and grinders occasionally, most of our work is done by hand using the same kinds of tools and processes that have been used by smiths to make beautiful ironwork for millennia. Doing things by hand forces us to stay personally in touch (literally!) with each piece, as well as staying sociable with each other! It also allows us to keep our production shop at almost zero waste, and an environmentally and family friendly addition to our homestead.

Does this mean that our way of making things is slow and inefficient? You might be surprised- the old ways aren’t always slow- but after all, we’re not trying to make the same things that machines do. We focus on making work that simply can’t be replicated with the same beauty & character by machine, and we are always working to deliver a good value without sacrificing those things. In addition, the very nature of the craft of traditional blacksmithing is one of flexibility that lends itself well to both custom and small-batch (or totally unique one-off) items, or to production runs especially for smaller items. Because almost everything a blacksmith makes can be made with a few very basic tools, and rarely does a project require expensive tooling-up, we have the ability to customize things to a great extent.

If you would like to keep reading, head over to the About page for our backstory.

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