It started with a single swing of a hammer.

In Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, Joey Lynn picked up a hammer at Robby Bowman's Forge and forged his first blade. Robby — a two-time contestant on the History Channel's Forged in Fire — runs Iron Mountain Metal Craft, and that afternoon changed everything. Joey drove home to Graniteville, South Carolina, and started building his own forge shop from the ground up.

He didn't stop there. Months of study, practice, and real heat at the anvil eventually led Joey to the Forged in Fire floor himself — competing on Season 5, Episode 1. He came back from that with a sharper eye, a deeper appreciation for the craft, and something to teach.

That's what The Joey's Forge Experience is built around.

This isn't a knife store. It's a working forge where you can a blade takes shape that you forged yourself. Joey's classes put beginners at the anvil alongside a TV-veteran bladesmith: no experience needed, full safety gear provided, and you walk out with a knife you forged with your own hands. Kids six to twelve forge horseshoe blades. 13 and older can tackle railroad spike knives.

Every session runs small — two students max — so there's no standing around waiting for attention.

Beside Joey at the forge is Mitch Lebo, his main class helper and the primary day-to-day support in the shop. Joey's best Friend, Rodney "Hot Rod" Sawyer — who has built his own brand, Hot Rod Bladez — stops in from time to time to work on his own blades. These aren't hirelings filling a role — they're bladesmiths who actually care how a knife turns out.

Joey is 62, disabled, and at the forge every day. Not because he has to be. Because the work matters. A handmade knife carries every decision the maker made: the steel chosen, the heat held, the edge geometry ground in by hand. You can't fake that, and a machine can't replicate it.

Whether you're looking for a custom blade, need your kitchen knives brought back to life, or want to spend an afternoon learning something real —

come find us at 3914 Buck Road in Augusta.

The forge is on. The door is open.

Book a class, order a knife, or just stop by.