ElementFe Metal Design- Where Function and Beauty Meet

ElementFe is my trade name for the Guemes Island blacksmith shop; designing, forging, and building handcrafted forged steel and iron furniture, gates, railings, candlesticks, spoons, kitchenware and all manner of repair and fabrication.

Friday, June 22, 2012





Heat treating some 440c stainless steel blades, and one spring for a slipjoint folding knife.
From bottom up: Two foil packets ready to go into the kiln, in the kiln for timed soaking @ 1975 F, cooling with heat colors showing, the completed set! Some of these are finished, photos OTW...

Thursday, June 14, 2012






Here are some new photos of ironwork at a Guemes Island home- a small part of a remarkable garden!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Leo ponders the frog

Frog

Contentment

You can't see in the daylight, but the area to be bent has been heated to cherry red (13-1400F) with an oxy/propane torch. It's remarkable how flexible it gets, even as it loses the color- at 900F it still bends nicely once it's been heated.

Lily pad

In order to suit a bronze frog made by my neighbor, remarkable sculptor Leo Osborne, this lily pad needs to be cut to shape, and the edges nicely turned up. Here, a press has been adapted to a small steel work table-ready to go!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Folders

Busy week, working indoors because of the snow. Five new knives ready for sanding and polishing.
Bottom left, a small Flipper- 440c blade, stainless fittings, Cocobolo handle.
Top center, a "Cypress" pattern (these are all named after islands near my home), 440c blade, stainless fittings, Bubinga handle.
Center, Eliza pattern, San Mai blade (this is a three layer sandwich, tough 15n20 nickel bearing steel on the outside, high carbon 1084 for the cutting edge), Cocobolo handle.
Bottom center, Cypress pattern, SanMai blade, Cocobolo handle.
On the upper right is a Saltwater Boatman's knife- the blade is high carbon stainless that will be polished for ultimate corrosion resistance,  all stainless fittings and silicon bronze handle.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Meanwhile back at the ranch....

Snow and pussy willows

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Railing

Decorative railing surround

Rail