Jordan Borstelmann is the owner of Crooked Path Forge. His first experience smithing was a 2 week beginners course in 2004 at the Penland School of Crafts. He then apprenticed for a year under blacksmith Yaw Owusu Shangofemi, from 2008 to 2009. Jordan acquired his own shop in 2010 and has been learning what skills he can ever since. He has always been fascinated with tools, how they work, and how their form helps them function. The creative process starts with the tools you use to hammer your steel to shape, with the punches and chisels, and vises and anvils with which you manipulate the metal. The smith doesn’t just apply paint to the canvas, they get to make the brush that applies that paint. To Jordan that adds an extra layer to his work and his art. It allows a level of uniqueness and originality that cannot be obtained any other way.
