As sparks fly out of the recycled electricity box used as a forge, junior Matthew Mears pulls a red-hot steel dowel rod from the embers, places it on his anvil, and begins to hit it with a ball-peen hammer. With each swing, the steel rod bends and shapes into a flat design. A high-pitch ring begins to resonate with each swing after a while, which Mears said means the rod was too cool and needed to be put back in the forge.

“I started taking an interest to it about eight months ago. It’s been on my mind quite a while. It’s been something I really wanted to pursue,” Mears said.

Mears said that he has made a couple of knives, a letter opener and some decorative pieces.

“I’ve thrown two of them away, the decorative pieces I occasionally throw away or I reuse the metal because it can always be reheated and reformed. The other stuff I keep around the house,” Mears said.

Besides minor burns, Mears said he has been able to avoid injuries.

Mears said his goal is to be able to make a bearded axe, which is a Viking style of axe.

He said that blacksmithing is calming for the most part, but can be frustrating if something breaks or goes wrong.

“Taking steel and getting it hot enough that you can whack it out with a hammer, and make something interesting about it, make art or make something useful is really cool,” Mears said.

Mears’ said his best friend, junior Chance Levinson, helps him out and is actually getting to be better then him.

“My favorite thing about blacksmithing is how you can make anything out of metal. You start from scratch and if you mess up, you can try again. It’s fun to make whatever you want. If you need something you can make it, and I think that’s the cool part about blacksmithing,” Levinson said.

Levinson said that the worst part was the day after because your arms get really sore.

Mears said he plans to continue to do it in the future as a hobby, and may make knives to sell as a side job.