Rustic American Blacksmith Write Up

We here at H & B Forge Co. are extremely humbled and pleasantly surprised by the new article that was written about us in the latest issue of Knives Illustrated. (May/June issue) We have been dealing with Reuben Bolieu for several years and have always enjoyed our conversations and hearing about his many adventures. He has become one of our behind-the-scenes cheerleaders and we love that! But now he has outdone himself in the writing of this article. It brought tears to my eyes and made me want to run and find Will so I could show it to him! I can’t imagine the reaction he would have had! We continue to be surprised by the way the business began to grow so quickly almost from the moment we lost Will. A very dear friend recently responded to that by saying something very profound: “Imagine if Will had been an arborist…would the seeds he planted fail to take root or the trees stop growing upon his death? Of course not. This business has blossomed not simply because of the attention he gave it…but the attention the family gave it. You are so blessed…you don’t even need to be sad. With every order placed…with every stroke of the hammer…a slab of metal is transformed into something beautiful, something durable and something permanent…guaranteed. Just like he was…just like he still is.” I love that! Will is still here with us….every stroke of the hammer, every new friend we meet in this crazy business, every order that comes in and every time Jarrod and I put our heads together to discuss a new idea, a new product line, a deadline, a custom order….he is here, watching, smiling, listening, prodding…. Thank you, Reuben for writing such a beautiful article that captures the essence of who we are. Thank you, Joshua Swanagon for publishing it and thank ALL of YOU for making H & B Forge what it is. For if it weren’t for you buying our products and making your youtube videos and posting on your forums and sharing with your friends, we would not be where we are today. We love that you love our products, that you so faithfully and strongly support us, but, no matter what, we will always be a tiny little shop, in the middle of nowhere on a dead end country road…because that’s who we are.