The Community
Stories from the shop floor.
The brand is the people. These are the knife-makers, welders, mechanics, leather-workers, and fabricators on the marketplace, plus scholarship updates, grant recipients, and the occasional essay about why we do this.
Caleb Monroe: A One-Man Leather Shop in Roanoke
Caleb Monroe runs a one-man leather shop out of a converted feed store in Roanoke, Virginia. He makes wallets, belts, knife sheaths, and the occasional rifle sling. Six-year waitlist on the slings. We drove down to see how.
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The Scholarship ProgramMason Bent: A Knife Shop at the End of a Gravel Road
A one-person knife shop in Dandridge, Tennessee, built out of a converted dairy barn. Six-month waitlist, 1084 high-carbon blades, every handle turned on a 1950s lathe. We spent a weekend in the shop.
Read 6 minTwo Welding Scholarships: The First Recipients
In January we put out a call for two welding-school scholarships. We got 343 applications. Here are the two going to school on Forge & Anvil this spring.
Read 4 min
Why an Anvil?
We picked the anvil for a reason. It has nothing to do with blacksmithing and everything to do with what it means to put something heavy down and build on top of it.
Read 3 minHow We Vet Every Maker Before They List on the Site
Before any maker's product goes live on the marketplace, Daniel reviews the work, talks to the maker, and tests the piece. Here's what that process looks like, and why we've turned three out of the last ten away.
Read 5 minField Note: Jake's Arch
A reader in Tucson sent us a photo of a garden arch he built from salvaged rebar. It stopped us in our tracks.
Read 2 minWhat's Coming: The Summer '26 Giveaway Slate
A look at the three giveaways we're lining up for summer, including one truck, one complete fabrication bay, and one we won't announce until June.
Read 3 min