LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Joseph Cross is reigniting the fire that is blacksmithing. 

What You Need To Know

  • FirstBuild is a community makerspace in Louisville

  • The Blacksmithing Club is open to the public and introduces people to the medieval art

  • Professional blacksmith and FirstBuild employee Collin Sage runs the club

“I just love keeping old traditions going," he said. "In college, I learned how to weave, and this is just the next step, I guess."

The denture technician heard about the FirstBuild Blacksmithing club after watching Collin Sage win the History Channel’s blacksmithing competition show “Forged in Fire." He joined and asked his wife to come along, molding the biweekly sessions into something more. 

“It's the best date night we could possibly have," Cross said. "It's a good chance for us to work on communication cooperation.”

Sage has been a professional blacksmith for about 10 years. As an employee at FirstBuild, a community makerspace in Louisville, he said he wanted to share his knowledge and love for the craft. 

"I wanted to get into teaching and help people; how do I share this craft with people? And then through working at FirstBuild, I realized, 'Why not? It's a community space; it's a makerspace,'" Sage said. "Why not marry those two ideas?"

The public club now has more than 35 members and meets Tuesdays and Thursdays at FirstBuild, making everything from swords to spoons to forks. 

"They're interested in crafts that kind of get your hands-dirty attitude, getting involved, doing things that interest you, artistic things that you love," Sage said. "That's all on the rise right now. And I mean, of course, pop culture has shown us that medieval things, knights, swords, all that stuff is super cool."

Sage said members leave with much more than a new memento. 

“It's seeing that you took something from nothing; you took a piece of metal, a piece of garbage, and you turn it into something beautiful with your own hands," Sage said. 

Cross said the club has helped strengthen parts of his relationship with his wife. 

“We are both very detail-oriented," he said. "Each of us can find an issue that needs fixed for the other one, and it's just a great bonding experience."

FirstBuild is backed by GE Appliances. The community makerspace includes two universal lasers, three 3D printers and multiple design computers.

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