Joshua O’Crowley, second from right, displays knife blades to Ogre’s Forge customers at his shop. Photo credit: Ogre’s Forge
Joshua O’Crowley remembers the time he realized that blacksmithing was more than a craft. After returning home from his second deployment, Joshua took up knife making, an informal practice he started in his garage to decompress and create. But eventually, Joshua noticed that the craft was also helping him heal from PTSD symptoms following his last tour of duty. “It took about a year or so before we realized that this was what was helping – going in the shop and creating something,” Joshua says. “And I felt better doing it.”
As he honed his craft, he began to share it with others, particularly veterans and first responders who were dealing with similar challenges. One encounter with a Vietnam veteran who came to make a knife with Joshua left a lasting impression. Over the course of a month, the two shared stories and built a bond that had a profound impact on both of them. The experience inspired Joshua and Robyn to pay it forward and create a space where others could find the same sense of healing and connection.
For over a decade, The Ogre’s Forge was Joshua’s part time job and creative outlet. But after five deployments and 22 years of Army service, Joshua and his family moved to Manhattan, Kansas, in 2022. This was their opportunity to finally open a blacksmithing shop for The Ogre’s Forge, and they were able to commit to working in the business full time.
A name, a memory, a place
Photo credit: The Ogre’s Forge
During his time in the Army, Joshua was part of a squad called the “Ogre Squad”, due to their size and strength. Joshua himself adopted the nickname, Ogre, and it stuck. When he and his wife, Robyn, were looking for a name for their shop, The Ogre’s Forge was the perfect fit. “When we looked at starting the shop, we kicked around a bunch of different names trying to find something catchy or whatever and I don’t know how it came up but between my wife and I, I said, ‘Well, I was the Ogre in the Army’, and then we came up with The Ogre’s Forge,” recalls Joshua.
Joshua’s own handiwork is created with two criteria: beauty and functionality. “We make really nice knives that we want to be beautiful and look really nice. But second, they have to be functional. So, everything that we make is absolutely functional. And that goes with all our products,” says Joshua.
The shop offers more than a storefront for their products, however, and in many ways functions as a communal maker space for those learning the craft of blacksmithing and metal work. Joshua and Robyn wanted to foster community and connection through the craft, and when they opened The Ogre’s Forge in March this year, the couple decided to provide three types of products and services, including selling pre-made knives and leather goods, and hosting classes and workshops for people interested in the art of blacksmithing.
Their knife-making class is particularly popular, the couple says. Lasting for a total of 18 hours, two nights a week for three weeks, the course takes customers through an immersive process of building a totally customized knife and teaches them the skill along with it. “They come in and start forging a blade and grinding it to shape. They go through each part, from handle fitting to final polish and sharpening. They leave here with every bit as good as what I could make. I just coach them through it, make them do the work, and they leave with just a beautiful, amazing product,” says Joshua.
A surprise hit has been the blacksmith date night class, during which couples come into the shop and make small things together, like keychains and bottle openers. They also offer a leather date night class, where attendees make wallets, purses, or notebook covers. The dynamics of the couples learning and working together on a project are particularly enjoyable to Joshua and Robyn. “It’s fun to sit there and watch the interaction of the couples with other couples and get in there and [create] the fun environment,” says Joshua.
For individuals hoping to work on their craft long-term, The Ogre’s Forge offers an open shop membership for those who have taken the blacksmith or knife making class. Open shop times provide space and equipment access for members to work on their own projects in their shop. “It’s like a gym membership, right?” Joshua says. “You just pay your membership, and if you’ve taken either the blacksmith class or the knife making class, we know you’re safe around all the equipment to understand how everything works. You can come back on our open shop nights and work on your own project when it’s open, and that way I can provide all the equipment, everything, and it’s not a huge cost for people who want to get into this and start play around with things up front,” says Joshua.
Learning – and teaching – as he goes
Photo credit: Ogre’s Forge
Joshua has been eager to teach the art of blacksmithing, partly because of the help and mentorship he’s received on his own journey. Joshua recalls how a welder for the Army helped him build a lot of the tools he continues to use today. Joshua especially credits his wife, Robyn, as his biggest supporter and collaborator. She has been instrumental, he says, in the production of knives, making all the handle material, wood, and other things used in the process.
Over the years, Joshua and Robyn have been able to use their experience and knowledge to help others get started in the business as well. They pride themselves on their resourcefulness and ability to make beautiful products from what others termed “crappy equipment”. The couple regularly collect materials from scrap yards and junk yards and use them to build equipment for others at a low cost.
With the opening of Ogre’s Forge, creating a makerspace and hosting classes has been a natural extension of the couple’s love of teaching a unique art and creating environments for people to learn, connect and ultimately, to find healing in the work, as Joshua himself has done.
Despite being open for only a few weeks, The Ogre’s Forge is already becoming a community where individuals of all backgrounds and experiences come together to create, collaborate, and support one another.
“Everybody is welcome, especially veterans and first responders and those types of individuals. Police officers or a group of firefighters who need that release, need that break, or need someplace else [to go],” Joshua says. “That’s what we’re here for now.”
Check out upcoming blacksmith classes at The Ogre’s Forge and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
