QUINCY, Ohio — With a forge on full blast and tongs in hand, one Ohio man is finding ways to give back to his community from inside his workshop.

What You Need To Know

  • James Hamlin is a bladesmith, and owns Rolling Thunder Forge in Quincy

  • The veteran enjoyed time in the workshop through the Wounded Warrior project.

  • He offers knife manufacturing classes to the public

James Hamlin is a bladesmith. He owns Rolling Thunder Forge in Quincy. He offers level one through four knife manufacturing classes to the public and no experience is necessary.

Hamlin is a veteran serving in the Marine Corps from 2005 to 2009. He first discovered he enjoyed spending time in a workshop through the Wounded Warrior Project.

"I went down some dark alleys, dark areas where I was in, but thankfully I had a couple of people to help me out as well," he said.

Now he’s working to be that person for others. When teaching classes to veterans, he focuses on mental health and works to make sure the student has professional health care resources.

“I had a friend of mine, and he’s a good friend of mine actually, and he said ‘Hey, I know we’re close friends and you won’t judge me for this but I’m feeling suicidal,'" he said. "And I said ‘Get out here, let’s fire up the forge' and he’s still alive and kicking and he thanks me almost every single time I see him. And I just try to be that good friend as well.”

Hamlin is also a volunteer firefighter and is pursuing a degree in social work at The Ohio State University.

“I’ll just boil it down to my childhood," he said. "I wasn’t helped a lot as a kid and I wanted to change that. I want to help as many people as I can."

For more information on Rolling Thunder Forge, click here.