Mountain King Forge - Traditional Blacksmith
Mountain King Forge is a small cottage industry and privately owned working forge museum with a strong focus on crafting everything by hand via traditional hand forging techniques. The Museum is a registered institution with the Rural Museums Network.
About the owner-
I first started blacksmithing in 2010. Being self taught I have learned many things the hard way, but having complete freedom to make whatever my mind's eye imagined each day was the payoff. I am a firm believer that you never stop learning.
Initially my interest was in the specialist craft of bladesmithing. I am the first bladesmith in Ashbourne since 'Thomas Cutteler' in 1277, who's knives I am told can still be viewed in the tower of London. My focus in recent years has evolved into hammers and tools but I still forge blades & armour. Tool forging and repairs are the domain of the traditional (village) blacksmith. Artist Blacksmithing in it's current form is a more recent invention, a way of keeping the trade alive by enticing a different clientele than farmers and craftsmen needing tools, a need that died out with the mechanization of farming and consumer culture. For this reason I do not consider myself an Artist Blacksmith, as I feel strongly that Blacksmithing should be essential, rather than optional.
I do not forge on an industrial scale, nor do I mass produce. I prefer to make one off, custom items. It is very satisfying to create something completely unique, the only one of it's kind in the world. I accept tool commissions and repairs from local people as a means to serve the needs of my community.
My inspiration draws mainly from history, tradition & folklore. I don't create historic replicas, but prefer to put my own spin on age old designs, which is the only way to be true to the title of Blacksmith, who, in their time were great artistsans and inventors. I also have a passion for researching local heritage.
I offer instruction in blacksmithing, bladesmithing and tool forging at my smithy in Ashbourne, Derbyshire.
Philip Owen Brown, Blacksmith.