About Water Oak Forge

A one-person blacksmith shop in Upstate South Carolina hand forging tools for blacksmiths, bladesmiths, and makers around the world.

Founded in 2013

HOW IT STARTED....

My journey into blacksmithing and knife making started around 2011–2012 while working in the firearms industry. During that time, I became friends with local knife makers Casey Bradshaw of Bradshaw Blades and Mark Raymond of MR Mayhem.

They were regulars in the shops I worked in, and what started as conversations about guns and knives quickly turned into shared curiosity about making tools and blades.

Eventually, Casey got tired of me asking questions about how certain knives were made and told me something simple: “Why don’t you just make one yourself?”

So I did.

I went to his shop, made my first knife, and that experience changed everything.

THE DEEP DIVE (LEARNING THE CRAFT)...

After that first knife, I went down the same path most makers do—books, YouTube, trial and error, and a lot of mistakes.

At first, I focused on stock removal knife making, but I quickly became more interested in forging blades from raw steel. That shift pulled me deeper into blacksmithing and away from just knife making.

This was before shows like Forged in Fire had fully popularized the craft, so most of what I learned came from digging through whatever information I could find and trying to apply it in a small shop environment.

MENTORSHIP & TRAINING...

Along the way, I came across Brian Brazeale and his “Tools to Make Tools” curriculum, which had a major influence on my direction as a maker.

When I reached out, Brian was no longer teaching, but he pointed me toward Lyle Wynn and Stan Bryant, who were continuing that curriculum.

I traveled to Mendenhall, Mississippi, and spent a week training with them in the Tools to Make Tools program.

That experience was physically demanding and mentally intense, but it showed me what cannot be learned from books or videos. It gave me a foundation in forging tools, understanding processes, and refining techniques that I still rely on today.

I left that week with a handful of tools—and more importantly, the understanding of how to build and refine them properly.

TEACHING & COMMUNITY...

One of the most rewarding parts of this journey has been teaching.

Over the past decade, more than 200 students have come through the shop to learn knife making, forging basics, and toolmaking.

Many of them have forged their first knife here, learned foundational techniques, or built tools like hammers and punches during their time in the shop.

Teaching has not only helped others enter the craft—it has helped refine my own understanding of it.

Watching students take what they learn and continue their own blacksmithing journeys has become one of the most meaningful parts of the work.

THE SHIFT TO TOOLMAKING...

Over time, knife making became less of a primary focus and more of a personal passion project.

Blacksmithing toolmaking became the center of my work.

What I enjoy most is what I call:

“Art that makes art.”

Tools that help other makers create.

Punches, drifts, fullers, chisels, and forging tools became the core of the shop, built for real use in real forging environments.

Today, Water Oak Forge tools are shipped to customers around the world and used by thousands of makers, blacksmiths, and bladesmiths across the United States and beyond.

PLACE & INSPIRATION...

Over time, knife making became less of a primary focus and more of a personal passion project.

Blacksmithing toolmaking became the center of my work.

What I enjoy most is what I call:

“Art that makes art.”

Tools that help other makers create.

Punches, drifts, fullers, chisels, and forging tools became the core of the shop, built for real use in real forging environments.

Today, Water Oak Forge tools are shipped to customers around the world and used by thousands of makers, blacksmiths, and bladesmiths across the United States and beyond.

At its core, Water Oak Forge exists to make tools that help other makers create.

Whether it’s a punch, a drift, a hammer eye tool, or a custom forging tool, everything is built with the same intent:

Make something useful. Make something lasting. Make something that works in the hands of another maker.