About street

Growing up in Texas, I was accustomed to playing outside in the woods and at our East Texas Farm.  I often accompanied my dad when he built or repaired barbed wire fencing.  Although, he had a full-time job, he enjoyed physical labor and he sought out opportunities to not only build fence; but clear land, hall hay, or cut firewood.  He taught us that hard work was important to one's well-being, but that doing quality work and taking care of the tools of the trade was what led to success. That was his legacy to me.  My mom is artistic and creative with a sharp eye for symmetry and design.  I believe I have the best of both qualities as they fit perfectly into my blacksmithing.  Who says utilitarian, legacy quality tools can’t also be esthetically pleasing? 

In retrospect, my interest in blacksmithing began when I was about seventeen years old.  The weapons and tools used during the Renaissance period; the weapons of the Knights of the Round Table fascinated me with their durability and effectiveness.  I began making weapons from soft goods, found materials – even attempted a suit of chain mail using rings from soft drink cans.  Always seeking to improve, led me to blacksmithing and to David “Stringbean” Lowry.  During 2008, I began as an apprentice blacksmith under Stringbean and got serious with investment of my time and as a part time job during 2017.  Seems my dad really knew what he was talking about.  Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”  I have found this to be true while blacksmithing and while interacting with fellow blacksmiths.  It is not a competition, but a community of supportive, generous, hardworking men and women who want to further the past by including it in the present while looking forward to the future.

Life legacies are extremely important in forming the future of our world.  I believe legacy tools will help us in that quest. 

Street ogre forge

Starting in 1970, the tide began to shift again for this ancient art.  Society began to regain respect for work done with a personal touch, and more people had the resources to support industries built around this level of craftsmanship.  Blacksmiths were no longer seen as workhorses creating necessary items for survival through manual labor.  Instead, they are now seen as artists, creating works in iron and other metals with both traditional and modern techniques. 

In the beginning, I started making tools from railroad spikes, coil springs and other found/scavenged material that I gave as Christmas and thank you gifts.  As time moved on, I fell more deeply in love with swinging the hammer, heating the metal and molding seemingly immovable metal into usable tools.  This led to me needing more tools, which I found I could build at my own forge with my own hands.  More excitement, more tools, better tools, more sharing and engaging.  I learn each time I build; I find better, more refined, more efficient ways of molding the metals, making usable, lasting legacy tools that connect the past with the future because they are so well made that they will last for hundreds of years.  At Street Ogre Forge, I hand forge every single item. Using traditional and nontraditional techniques, each item is handmade to the highest standards with an artist's attention to detail from design and construction to fitting and finishing.  Not only have I found a creative outlet characterized by clean lines and deliberate details, I have found a connection with my dad, the past and the present … and the future by combining heat, force and creativity to manipulate the strongest of materials.