our origin story

My blacksmithing began in 1988 working at Historic Fort Snelling in St. Paul Minnesota. While there I learned a lot about traditional methods of forging. Since then I’ve worked at several other historical blacksmith shops.

The most common questions asked by visitors to these shops had to do with horseshoeing, so I became intent on learning that trade. After attending the Montana State University Horseshoeing School in Bozeman, MT in 2004, I started Black Mountain Farrier Service in the Missoula, MT area. In addition to horseshoeing, I continued my work in traditional blacksmithing and that part of my life has morphed into Sentinel Forge. Our latest chapter brings us to Garden Valley, California where we will continue to provide quality blacksmithing classes of all skill levels for a new group of interested, aspiring smiths.

Being an avid student of history and having worked at many museums and historical sites over the years, I have a very keen interest in the reproduction of historical objects however, I will produce just about any item or design a customer might want.

A big part of the museum blacksmithing experience was education. With that in mind, I began teaching smithing classes at our shop in 2017. These classes cover the basics up to intermediate and more advanced aspects of the trade.