Travelling blacksmith visits Kamloops, fashions fresh interest in an ancient skill

KAMLOOPS – The trade of fashioning metal has been around for thousands of years, and while it’s not as popular as it once was, one travelling blacksmith is forging new interest.

“It is an archaic skill or trade, but there are still blacksmiths out there who are making beautiful stuff like the ornamental gates, railings, art objects, things like that,” said William Steed, owner of The Forge Co. “There are still quite a few and I think the trade as a whole is growing.”

Steed, an artisan blacksmith from Leduc, Alberta, travels throughout western Canada, teaching popup metal working classes.

“I always say people leave with a smile and a sore arm,” he told CFJC News. “Because people aren’t used to swinging a hammer for two hours.”

During Wednesday’s (Apr. 17) class in Kamloops, students learned to make a fire poker.

“It was really cool. Putting in the spiral was really neat. I didn’t know how you did it,” explained Jana de Witte, who attended her first blacksmith workshop with The Forge Co. on Wednesday, but was adamant it would not be her last. “That’s always cool to be able to do that and how it turned out so nicely. It was pretty easy to do well, relatively.”

Accompanying de Witte was her friend, Anne Keith, who heard about the workshop and thought she would give it a try.

“It’s always great to try new things and just as I’m a little bit older now, I like to try all sorts of really cool stuff and things that I never thought I’d do, so this is something that I never thought I’d do,” explained Keith. “I feel like I’m a real blacksmith and I feel like I was a whole part of everything and I created something pretty special.”

During the two-hour workshop, students learn the basics of general blacksmithing and make a project they get to take home.

“I don’t even have a fireplace,” Keith laughed, showing off her finished fire poker. “I’m really excited to just hang it on the wall because I made it myself.”

In the last few years, Steed says he has seen forging grow in popularity.

“I think COVID has something to do with it. People were kind of trapped at home with their hobbies,” he said. “What I’ve found since COVID is people are super interested in learning something new and maybe getting creative with it. Most of my classes are sold out.”

Steed hopes to revitalize this retro craft and inspire new blacksmiths

“Some people who have taken classes over the years have set up their own little forge and are doing their own thing, and some of them are actually being quite successful with it,” Steed said.