Macabee Metals will showcase works at the upcoming Columbus Winterfair at the Ohio Expo Center Dec. 6-8 and at the Craftin’ Outlaws event at the Columbus Museum of Art on Dec. 8.
When many people think of blacksmithing, creations such as medieval swords, knives and armor come to mind. These tools and ornaments are exactly what inspired Adlai Stein, owner of the Columbus-based metalwork store Macabee Metals, to take up the craft.
“For me, it was history, swords, sorcery, Tolkien, King Arthur and walking around The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York as a young kid and seeing all the armor,” Stein says.
The craft of blacksmithing has a rich history and, according to Stein, was once the building block of many towns.
“In colonial Williamsburg, all the nails were made by a blacksmith,” he says. “So that kind of history and the fact that these towns wouldn't have existed without a blacksmith is very powerful to me.”
After practicing the craft as a hobby for 30 years, Stein now offers a full line of blacksmithing services, from home décor and architectural work, to knives, swords, and tools at Macabee Metals.Stein says the most popular pieces in the store are the quirky hand-shaped bottle openers, along with the board game dice and knives.
“You can make great art, but there's also a lot of utilitarian work with it,” Stein says. “There's a lot more practicality and that's what I like about it. You can go from a kitchen knife to a sculpture, all in the same art. I love that it's only limited by your imagination."
For anyone interested in making metals of their own, the blacksmith artist has some advice.
“On a practical level, it’s about getting it glowing red hot and hitting it with a hammer,” he says. “That's pretty simplified, but it’s sculpture with hot metal, a hammer and hand tools. With all the medieval stuff that comes to mind, we still do it the way they did 1,000 years ago.”
Stein offers blacksmithing classes at the Central Ohio School of Metalwork, which is located at the same location as Macabee Metals in Franklinton.
“First, figure out if you can take the heat – literally. Make sure you learn how to do it before you try it on your own,” Stein says.
Caitlyn Blair is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.