OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
Striking While the Iron Is Hot
Firing up the centuries-old art of blacksmithing
STORY AND PHOTOS BY Steve Martarano
Jack Strong , a fabricator with McLellan Blacksmithing in Loomis , welds a frame for a speaker cover in the machine shop on Horseshoe Bar Road .
A step into the forging area of McLellan Blacksmithing in Loomis is , in many ways , a step back in time . Though the tools mix the classic with modern , the machine shop and showroom feature a 19thcentury vibe , when blacksmiths and their services were an integral part of every community .
Blacksmithing may not be as common as it was in the 1800s , but blacksmithing has been part of John McLellan ’ s life since he was 8 years old , when he inherited tools from his grandfather and took classes on horseshoeing as a student at Del Oro High School . The art of forging hot metals using tools like a hammer and anvil to make objects is still a valued skill and has undergone a renaissance , fueled by hobbyists and a popular television show .
McLellan , a graduate of Chico State , has run McLellan Blacksmithing since the late 1980s . He has been president of the California Blacksmith Association
28 comstocksmag . com | September 2021