Quality Hawks & Knives by H & B Forge Co.
Family Owned & Operated Forge Since 1965
Will and Mary Barber were the owners of the H & B Forge Co. which began in 1965 with Mary's father, a dairy farmer at the time, and his partner, Tilton Bowen, a veterinarian. They started the business in a garage! When they couldn't keep up anymore, they hired a local Amish blacksmith to make the hawks. There were only three styles back then, the Shawnee, the squaw and the mouse.
Eventually, the Amish church forced them to stop making the hawks as they were opposed to the Vietnam War and found out that there were H & B tomahawks going overseas to our soldiers.
Meanwhile, Tilton left the partnership and Jim's oldest daughter, Mary, married. Her new husband, Will Barber was a pilot, turned roofer and machinist. It turned out that he was a man of MANY talents and in no time he was making the hawks in a forge he set up in the back of his warehouse. Always the perfectionist, Will refused to make anything with his name on it that was not only a work of art, but functional and durable as well. Over the years he has added many new styles, including Naval Boarding axes, Medieval and Nordic axes, and various styles of spiked axes and hammer polls.
Sadly, the Barber family lost our leader, father, husband, PawPaw and best friend on December 7th, 2012. The world lost a fine craftsman, artist and patriot. H & B Forge Co. will go on, however. Will and Mary's son, Jarrod, learned from the best and has worked alongside his father in the shop for the last 10 years. As his father's health failed, Jarrod had done more and more of the blacksmithing.
He has now taken over the business and will be running it, along with his mother, for as many years as God wills. He continues the fine quality and tradition of H & B.
He has added his own line of hawks as well as the traditional hawks and knives H & B has become so well known for. He welcomes custom orders.
NEW NEWS:Mary has remarried and has moved to a farm down the road. Jarrod and his wife, Kassie and their 5 children have moved into Mary's house which is also where the forge shop is located. Kassie will be gradually assuming more and more of Mary's duties so that she and Jarrod will be working together. They have a son, William, who has recently joined the marines, a daughter in high school, a son in elementary and a 4 year old daughter and 3 year old son. Needless to say, Kassie is/will be VERY busy!"
