Big BLU Hammer has been making tools and forging machines since the mid 1990s with out power hammers hitting the market at scale for the 97 ABANA Conference. Our home in the mountains of North Carolina put us in a rich community of craftsmen artists and manufactures. Our shop has always been enhanced by its day in and day out involvement in forging with the machines and tools we make. This has made it easy for us to find out what works and impossible to miss what doesnt.
Dean build the first BLUs. His involvement in the international community brought together the concepts of free form forging that some of the influential smiths of the 90s and 2000s developed in the community during that time. With combo and crown dies in hand our machines impowered shops to explore forging elements to finish fast with open dies. Deans brother Carl, sometime known as Mule, worked for almost two decades refining how the hammers were built, tuned and shipped. Thousands of hammers have his figure print on them.
But nothing never does change, and even in the root trade of all trades there is always something new to explore. Because building and shipping machines isnt enough. Every day we have to get a little better, each tool and each machine should be a little better than the last and there is always something new to try. New dies, new processes, and new material. In the last 10 years we have released a mountain of new products and many new machines.
Hand tooling Production
Kamil got his start at the saw mill. He is a aspiring top leave artist and craftsman, but his super power is his work ethic and reliability. This shines through in his tooling, he can forge any tool we make from bar stock, but he puts in the time needed in the grinding room to make sure ever tool that goes out with a sparkle.
Hand Tooling Production
Fransico Started at BLU over a decade ago, he is a pragmatic and concise individual and leads the best open die tool forging team in the world. Skills!
Production Lead
Andy has been and Blacksmith for about 25 years, but got into tooling 16 years ago when we started work for Oak Hill Iron and had a chance to work directly with the Big BLU team. He can do most anything in the shop.... but he doesnt have the #1 headband.
General Manager
With a background in mathematics and commercial construction management Jen oversees the day in and day out operations of our retail sales and industrial integration projects. Jen has been working with Iron Copper Silver and Gold for years.
Office Manager
While you most likly know Pike because they are the first ones to answer the phone or an email. What you dont know if that Pike keeps everything flowing in our shop. If it needs to be ordered, designed, shipped or printed Pike is going to be the one making sure it happens, if not the one doing it.
Pike has only been working with Iron for the last year, but they have been a maker and active designer for almost a decade.
Machine setup
There is no way around it, Bryan is a mechanical genius, if he cant take it apart.... it doesnt come apart and if he does take it apart.... sometimes he can put it back together.
