John Rigoni

    A short history: Marine Corps/infantry 99-03 stationed in the Mojave desert, with deployments to Japan and Korea. After leaving the Marines, I started college coursework, with the intent on becoming a history professor. One weekend I wanted to try my hand at making a knife. Over the next few years, the metal projects increased and the hobby became an obsession.   I finished my degree with a BA in Ancient History/Classical Studies and immediately traveled to Europe on a student work visa to pursue life as a Journeyman Blacksmith. I worked in the shops of Andrew Rowe in Wales, Terry Clark in England and Uri Hofi in Israel. 

After doing the starving artist bit, it was time to find a career that could work here in the States. I started the fire academy, later getting hired on with the Woodlands Fire Dept. In that time, I’ve built a shop of my own and have slowly built tooling focused around the power hammer and press. The goal is very clean forging. Can it be made and made well. Looking back, it has been a great choice for me. Career Firefighter, and also run a small shop with the intent to create beautiful work.