Posted 3 years ago
hotairfan
(385 items)
A few years ago, I posted an ember tong made by whitesmith Jim Kiefer from Honey Brook, PA.
In the last photo, you can see the Kiefer ember tong alongside my 18th Century ember tong.
At an engine show in New Holland, PA, Jim was demonstrating his whitesmith skill and was selling some of his items that he makes. I saw this combo smoke pipe / tomahawk and I had to have it.
This man is an artist in metal ware. The blade is hand forged wrought iron with an inserted blade of alloy steel (hardened). Jim added a brass inlay (visible in the third photo) The pipe has a hole following the entire curly maple stem / handle. He put a turned bone pin in the top of the stem at the hawk end so the smoke would travel in the direction of the nylon mouthpiece.
I don't dare sharpen this elegant piece, because everybody who sees it at my early American displays, wants to pick it up to see the workmanship, and I don't want any one to get cut.
Now, this guy is g-o-o-d ! Beautiful work !Does he sell O/L ?
Hi bb2,
I'm not sure if he sells on line or not. I do know that this is not how he earns a living. He makes hinges and other cabinet hardware to earn a living and making the items that I have from him and showing his talent at historical shows, is a hobby for him.
Bloody good, that.
Hi bb2,
I did find an interesting article on Jim Kiefer. it was written by "The Philadelphia Inquire" . If you Google "the blacksmith forges work of art" you might find a link as to how to contact him for a tomahawk ..... hotairfan
Thanks Hotair. Interesting reading. At my age and growing up in the South, I knew several blacksmiths real well. Sever helped me with the wheels for my cannon. Making felloes, fitting spokes (lucky enough to find new old ones) and shrinking tires was a real revelation and job. The technical design of wagon wheels is a study within itself. Thanks for introducing me to his work.