Andrew J. Welton: Handforged Design

Andrew spent a decade studying medieval weapons in European museums. However, those ancient blades were covered in rust, and Andrew wanted to know what they looked like when they were new. So Andrew built a forge and began to reproduce their favorite medieval blades, eventually learning to smelt their own iron from ore in a medieval-style “bloomery” furnace—the only way to recreate the ancient alloys used by medieval smiths.

Today, Dr. Welton works as a fulltime blacksmith, bladesmith, and educator. Andrew recreates historical blades, and uses historical inspiration to forge heirloom-quality kitchen cutlery and cookware. Andrew teaches others to forge at craft schools across the United States.

Andrew works primarily with wrought iron and iron they smelt themself from charcoal and ore. They love how traditional materials, forged with historically inspired design, connect humans across time and space.