Ballistic Magazine
  • Guns
    • Handguns
    • Rifles
    • Class III & More
  • Gear
    • Accessories
    • Ammo
    • Knives
    • Suppressors
  • News
  • Lifestyle
    • Culture
    • People
    • Podcasts
    • Rides
    • Survival
    • Tactics & Training
  • VIDEOS
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
Ballistic Magazine
  • Guns
    • Handguns
    • Rifles
    • Class III & More
  • Gear
    • Accessories
    • Ammo
    • Knives
    • Suppressors
  • News
  • Lifestyle
    • Culture
    • People
    • Podcasts
    • Rides
    • Survival
    • Tactics & Training
  • VIDEOS
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
Ballistic Magazine
No Result
View All Result
 
Enter to WIN Christensen Arms Modern Hunting Rifle in FREE GUN FRIDAY!

Hoffman Blacksmithing Demonstrates that Age Doesn’t Determine Quality

Armando Basulto by Armando Basulto
October 6, 2021
in Gear, Knives
0
Hoffman Blacksmithing is widely popular for its axes.
0
SHARES
174
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Many are breaking away from the social norms of their generation, seeking to rise above the expectations of their peers. Some, like young blacksmith Liam Hoffman, are in the vanguard of young people with a revitalized work ethic that would impress the stalwart frontiersmen of yore. Liam became a household name with his appearance and amazing performance on the competitive bladesmith reality show Forged in Fire. But he was on the path to knife-making stardom before audiences or the show’s producers knew who he was. Most already knew of his company, Hoffman Blacksmithing.

The Case Winkler Pack Axe is a no-nonsense design that is all performance.
RELATED STORY

The Case Winkler Pack Axe is a Battle-Born and Field Proven Axe Design

Hoffman Blacksmithing

Hoffman Blacksmithing is now one of the most successful blade- and tool-making outfits in the market today. With Hoffman axes in demand all over the world, many see them as the par excellence of tool craftsmanship. In 2017, Liam wrote a book, Forged: A Guide to Becoming a Blacksmith, as a primer for new blacksmiths. It provides insight and tips that even veteran bladesmiths have found helpful.

Hoffman Blacksmithing is expanding and adding employees to keep up with the demand and expansion into new markets. It is providing tools and materials to other blacksmiths. And all of this focused energy comes from a young man not yet 25 years old who already has more time at the forge than many men twice his age.

How The Fire Began

Liam Hoffman grew up in the rural mountains of North Carolina, steeped in small-town life. Like any natural habitat partitioned off from the rest of the country, things move at a different pace and rhythm in the Appalachian valleys. The way of life that others may see as historical are just the day-to-day present of folks who see no reason to race to the grave. Here, a young 13-year-old boy’s predilection for working with metal and crafting knives was encouraged rather than questioned.

Liam Hoffman of Hoffman Blacksmithing.
Liam Hoffman of Hoffman Blacksmithing.

“First thing I ever made was a knife—don’t know why it was a knife. But I did end up making all kinds of things like pot hooks, stuff like that. I grew up camping, hiking and building fires, so using knives was normal to me,” Hoffman recounts.

He was an active outdoorsman and motivated to learn and better himself in a wide variety of skills. Like many boys with outdoor inclinations, Liam was very involved with his Boy Scout troop, earning all the badges required to climb the ladder of excellence and reach the coveted Eagle Scout rank.

“Being a Scout didn’t necessarily help me with blacksmithing directly, but it taught me about being organized, taking charge…” It was this mastery of focus and organizational skills that helped Hoffman juggle many activities in high school. This was while developing blacksmithing skills at a level that he began selling his first knives while still in school.

A Driving Focus

Even the most focused and dedicated teens will sometimes lose direction and deviate from their mission when they get to high school. The distractions are many. Most fall off the path when they become misdirected by the two biggest targets to chase: gas fumes and perfumes. Liam, however, continued along his blacksmithing course.

In high school, he found a supportive community of friends and teachers who recognized his potential. In fact, some of his biggest fans and buyers were the teachers themselves.

Liam says, “I’d have a backpack full of knives, and I’d sell my knives to teachers.”

At his school, the students and staff already appreciated the master craftsmanship of this ambitious young man. They wanted to support, both morally and tangibly, the budding career of a promising blacksmith.

At an age when most young people are still deciding what to do with their lives, Liam Hoffman has already created a respected blacksmithing company, brand and reputation.
At an age when most young people are still deciding what to do with their lives, Liam Hoffman has already created a respected blacksmithing company, brand and reputation.

Forging Ahead

Liam Hoffman’s feature on the reality-TV show Forged in Fire spread his fame beyond his school and the in-the-know blade community. For those unacquainted with this popular History Channel show, the format of each episode consists of a competition between bladesmiths in three different timed, progressive challenges.

Each contestant must create a blade with unfamiliar materials in the first round. Then finishing his or her knife into a functional weapon in the second round. Finally creating an iconic edged weapon from scratch in the final round.

At each step, the bladesmiths are judged by a panel of seasoned knife-makers and weapons experts and eliminated until only the best remains as the Forged in Fire Champion.

Liam received several requests to appear in the competition, unbeknownst to avid viewers of this now wildly successful show. However, he felt he was too inexperienced and young. And his own self-disciplined humility restrained him from entering the fray.

Liam was first approached for the show just as he was graduating from high school due to the rising popularity of his knives among collectors of fine blades.

“They reached out to me before Season One, before anyone had ever heard of the show,” Liam recounts. “They were reaching out to anyone who had anything to do with blacksmithing. I was in high school. I didn’t even reply because I didn’t know what it was and didn’t think I was good enough.”

Liam Hoffman’s path to blacksmith stardom started before TV had discovered him. He was selling his sought-after knives to teachers while still in high school.
Liam Hoffman’s path to blacksmith stardom started before TV had discovered him. He was selling his sought-after knives to teachers while still in high school.

The Decision to Go

It took two more seasons of prodding from the producers and the cajoling of a good friend to finally get Liam to accept the invitation to audition for the third season.

“The selection process to actually get in took almost three months. There was lots of paperwork, Skype interviews and screen tests. We did the filming two days after BLADE Show in 2016, but the show didn’t air until September of 2016.”

Liam went on to become the Season Three Forged in Fire Champion, beating out older, more experienced and established bladesmiths with his creation of a traditional Himalayan blade called a Kora sword. This high-profile win gained Liam a wider audience for his superb craftsmanship and gave the already growing Hoffman Blacksmithing an invigorating boost.

“The show really helped us in a long-range game, with people recognizing the brand and me. You definitely can’t underplay how much it helped us.”

Axe Making

Currently, Liam has a reputation for creating some of the best-quality work axes in the field. It has become the main focus of Hoffman Blacksmithing. His axes are some of the most sought-after pieces for both collectors and those who use them in the field.

The demand for Hoffman Blacksmithing axes is so great that every completed product or part and piece in the shop was already spoken for.

“Axes fell into my lap, in a sense,” Liam shares. “I love the shape and function of an axe, as well as the woodworking that goes into it. Once I began making them, I filled a demand and things took off. Our axes use higher-quality materials and finishes than others.”

The Hoffman catalog of axes offers a variety of styles to fit a diverse group of users from casual backpackers to serious forestry workers. Representative of the Hoffman quality is the popular Saddle Axe.

This double-bit beauty has a deceptively good balance and compact enough to include in a backpack. Or, as the name implies, attached to a horse’s saddle or, more likely, your belt. Tree specialists in the forestry industry originally used these types of axes. They would ride through timber stands grading and marking trees for harvest. This gave the saddle axe its other common name, the cruiser axe.

The Saddle Axe

The two heads of the 2.25-pound Saddle Axe allow the user to utilize one bit for heavy work and save the other bit for finer tasks. The edges will hold their sharpness and shape even after heavy chopping.

Liam Hoffman closely supervises the creation of each axe.
Liam Hoffman closely supervises the creation of each axe.

The axe head is hand-forged from a solid block of 4142 chrome-moly steel. This low-alloy chromium-molybdenum steel is reputed for its superior wear resistance, rigidity and good impact resistance. The heat treat provides exceptional performance in the field. The razor-sharp edge on one of the bits comes ground a little thinner, allowing versatility right out of the box.

The beautifully ergo-dynamically shaped 19-inch handle is made of local North Carolina kiln-dried hickory lumber, straight-grained and smooth in the hand without any hot spots. Each handle is individually hand-sanded and carved into perfect balance and width. A handle that’s too thick will cause quick grip exhaustion, while a too-thin handle can create blister-causing tension in the hand.

Hoffman Blacksmithing craftsmen take great care in choosing and shaping each handle to match the axe head. Every stacked piece of hickory is matched and married to its corresponding axe early in the creation process.

Every axe handle is hand-sanded and shaped to exacting specifications and matched to an axe head.
Every axe handle is hand-sanded and shaped to exacting specifications and matched to an axe head.

Tools Of The Trade

Hoffman Blacksmith axes all feel untouched by modern manufacturing machinery. Gripping one of the dense hickory handles and feeling the weight of the axe head transports the wielder to a time of rustic, independent living, where a man’s tools meant the difference between honest work or hopeless destitution, food or starvation, living or dying.

Much of the shop machinery at Hoffman Blacksmithing is circa-WWII and earlier.
Much of the shop machinery at Hoffman Blacksmithing is circa-WWII and earlier.
The equipment was bought via auction and lovingly refurbished.
The equipment was bought via auction and lovingly refurbished.

To walk the workspace of Hoffman Blacksmithing is to note the absence of digital readouts, LEDs or computer-aided manufacturing. The traditional tools of the trade—anvil, hammers and tongs—sit in ordered preparedness at work stations around the shop. Instead of diodes and chips, the machines here are of cast iron and grease, with the clang and cacophony of pistons and gears harkening back to the early Industrial Age.

Liam and his small team of workers grind, shape and scrutinize each axe. They stop working on the axe if there is the slightest mismatch of handle to axe head or other failure to meet Hoffman standards. It becomes a “thrower” for Liam and his crew to use for break-time competition. They have targets outside for testing and stress release, with axes of all makes and models targeting the bullseye. Liam, not unexpectedly, is the reigning company champ.

Any axe that does not meet Hoffman’s high standards are used for company throwing practice and testing.
Any axe that does not meet Hoffman’s high standards are used for company throwing practice and testing.

Hot And Bright Future

Hoffman Blacksmithing now moves approximately 70 to 100 axes a month while expanding its production to supply other blade- and axe-makers with tools. The well crafted hickory handles are so popular that they’re available for sale as separate purchases, along with walnut wedges.

“My business is growing rapidly and has been for several years. We don’t have any plans to slow it down anytime soon. Catching up on our axe orders is our priority at the moment, but I plan to come out with an array of new products and train and employ skilled craftsman for years to come.”

Whatever Liam Hoffman puts his measured touch upon carries a certain craftsman gravitas that comes from years of experience that one would expect from a seasoned blacksmith. The maker and the company work to the standard of their motto: “It is true craftsmanship that transcends technology.” But Liam takes it all in stride, right now setting his sights on becoming an American Bladesmith Society Master Smith before he turns 25 years old, which would make him one of the youngest ever to hold the coveted title. To anyone who has hefted a Hoffman axe, Liam’s future success is not only predictable but inevitable.

For more information, visit HoffmanBlacksmithing.com.

This article was originally published in the Ballistic Magazine Feb/March 2021 issue. Subscription is available in print and digital editions at OutdoorGroupStore.com. Or call 1-800-284-5668, or email subscriptions@athlonmediagroup.com.

Didn't find what you were looking for?

CLICK HERE FOR COMMENTS

RELATED POSTS

We get up close and personal with Amanda Kaye.

VIDEO: Klubing With ‘Naked and Afraid’ Star, Knife Designer Amanda Kaye

With a glass breaker and strap cutter, along with a knife, the Ed Brown First Responder Tool brings serious utility for EDC.

Ed Brown First Responder Tool Doubles as EDC Blade, Emergency Kit

Rambo and First Blood inspired survival knives.

Survival Knives: Anatomy of the Blade Rambo Made Famous

The Exoothermic Pulsefire is a flame thrower.

Father’s Day Guide: 10 Things Every Freedom-Loving Father Should Have

Load More

WATCH NOW: Night Shooter | Season 2

Discussion about this post

FEATURED POST

Ballistic's Best Reader's Choice Winners

Winners Announced: Ballistic’s Best Readers’ Choice 2022

The votes are in! We've counted the ballots, and we're excited and impressed by you, the...

Read more

TRENDING

7 new products announced ahead of shot show 2023.

New Guns & Gear Launched at SHOT Show 2023

We tested 12 compact and micro compact pistols to determine the best carry gun.

Best Concealed Carry Pistols 2022: Compacts & Micros Dominate

A top-quality chassis gives you adjustability and other features you need to make your long-range shooting more accurate and fun. These 7 top rifle chassis do it with class.

7 Top Rifle Chassis That Add Class & Accuracy to Your Long-Range Shoot

Affordable Precision Rifles 2018

19 Affordable Precision Rifles That Won’t Break the Bank

PICK A CATEGORY

TRAINING & TACTICS SPOTLIGHT

The Smith & Wesson Performance Center M&P9 M2.0 Competitor.

TESTED: Shooting the Smith & Wesson PC M&P9 M2.0 Competitor

Smith & Wesson just announced an exciting new addition to its famed Performance Center line of guns. The new...

SHOWCASE: TRAINING AND TACTICS

Clearing Corners Gunsite Academy lead

10 Key Tips to Clearing Corners That May Save Your Ass

Chris Hemsworth learns box breathing and other challenges in Limitless.

Use Box Breathing Like Chris Hemsworth to Calm Down & Make The Shot

zeroing in rifles and pistols

Zeroing Rifles & Pistols: Getting to & Maintaining Zeroed Sights

European Mount, DIY Euro Mount, Hunting, lead

How to Make a European Mount in 6 Steps

Team SIG Sauer's Lena Miculek fires a P365 and debates .380 vs 9mm.

VIDEO: SIG Sauer’s Lena Miculek Debates .380 Vs 9mm for Defense

Cross-Eye Dominant Shooting, pistol

The Guide to Cross-Eye Dominant Shooting

Follow this guide to better shooting on the move.

SHOOTING 101: 3 Keys to Getting Hits While Shooting on the Move

Understanding eye dominance and both eyes open shooting will help you get on target.

VIDEO: Understanding Eye Dominance for Better Accuracy & Speed

AMMO SPOTLIGHT

Hornady Subsonic 7.62x39 launches a 255-grain bullet.

Hornady Subsonic 7.62×39 Ammunition Launches 255-grain Bullet, Quietly!

Hornady just announced the release of a very interesting new load, one we think hunters will jump all over....

site logo
The Premier Firearms & Survival Magazine

Tactical

  • tactical-life.com

Magazines

  • Tactical Life
  • The Complete Book of Reloading
  • Guns of the Old West

Facebook

  • Tactical-Life Facebook
  • Guns of the Old West Facebook

Twitter

  • Tactical-Life Twitter

Self Defense

  • PersonalDefenseWorld.com

Magazines

  • Personal Defense World
  • Combat Handguns

Facebook

  • Personal Defense World Facebook
  • Combat Handguns

Twitter

  • Personal Defense World Twitter

Shooting Lifestyle

  • BallisticMag.com

Magazines

  • Ballistic Magazine

Facebook

  • Ballistic Magazine Facebook

Twitter

  • Ballistic Magazine Twitter

Alpha Lifestyle

  • SkillsetMag.com

Magazines

  • Skillset

Facebook

  • Skillset Magazine Facebook

Twitter

  • Skillset Magazine Twitter

Instagram

  • Skillset Magazine Instagram
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Terms Of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • California Privacy Notice
  • Cookie Policy
© Athlon Outdoors, All Rights Reserved.
You use of this website constitutes and manifests your acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, and awareness of the California Privacy Rights. Pursuant to U.S. Copyright law, as well as other applicable federal and state laws, the content on this website may not be reproduced, distributed, displayed, transmitted, cached, or otherwise used, without the prior, express, and written permission of Athlon Outdoors.

Manage your GDPR consents by clicking here. Manage your CCPA consents by clicking here.
No Result
View All Result
  • Guns
    • View All Guns
    • Handguns
    • Rifles
    • Class III & More
    • Sponsored
      • SIG Sauer
  • Gear
    • View All Gear
    • Accessories
    • Ammo
    • Knives
    • Suppressors
  • Videos
  • More
    • Free Gun Friday Sweeps
    • Sweepstakes
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Us
  • News
  • Lifestyle
    • View All Lifestyle
    • Tactics & Training
    • Survival
    • People
    • Podcasts
    • Rides

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.