Where steel comes alive
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, August 19, 2026
MARYSVILLE — A medieval trade is being taught in Marysville.
Metal is heated north of 2,000 degrees until it’s pulsing orange, then shaped by hammers in the hands of people like you and me. In about three hours, incoherent iron and steel becomes something entirely new.
It’s blacksmithing for the modern age and at Lawless Forge in Marysville, the result is whatever you make.
A melody of hammers slamming against steel sings like a doorbell waiting to be answered from the workshop on 44th Ave. NE just outside of downtown.
Inside, Lawless Forge is hardly Hollywood, so don’t expect what you see in fantasy movies.
“Everyone has this mystique about blacksmithing that isn’t there for the people who actually do it,” said Cade Powers, a shop lead and instructor at the Marysville forge.
Wooden stumps with anvils on top serve as the desks for lessons that are learned quickly. From the first swing at hard metal, Powers said it’s easy for folks to see it will take more than one class to shape a sword fit for a knight headed into battle.
Instead, Lawless Forge starts simple. Public classes introduce a craft that most people can only relate to through TV.
“We teach and get people interested in the basics,” Powers said. “Our focus is the bare bones of what you need to get started and just build small skills.”
In forging knives, rings and wrought-iron flowers, beginners get a feel for pulling smoking-hot metal from a furnace and the proper form for swinging a hammer — Powers said it’s the opposite to most at-home carpentry.
Newcomers see an anvil at use in its intended role, beyond just crushing a cartoon coyote.
Classes are filled by date nights, parties and company outings, students range from kids to senior citizens.
“None of it is something a 10-year-old kid couldn’t do,” Powers said, with the confidence of a man who’d never seen me navigate power tools.
As the propane-powered forge roared awake and heat filled the room, Powers eased any rising anxiety, reminding attendees they won’t get it right the first time and that the best students are simply the ones who want to learn.
It’s an exercise in imperfection and working at your own pace. Quotes written in chalk fill the blackboard walls warning of comparison as the thief of joy and perfection as the enemy of good.
The goal is simple, Powers said, make something you are proud of.
“We’re not trying to make you leave here with Excalibur or anything like that,” he said.
On this particular day, the plan is for a horseshoe-knife, half of a lucky charm heated and shaped into a sharp blade with a form-fitting handle. Lawless Forge uses a mild steel that is easier to forge with no harmful toxins or chemicals.
The instructions include only a few steps and the class is just three hours long.
It’s a daunting goal, but as specks of hot steel scatter with each hammer swing, the horseshoe slowly begins to resemble a shank a caveman might make.
Then, like magic made with your own hands, it transforms again into a blade that could safely be used in your kitchen.
“I like to tell people during classes that this is more of a reverse rage room than anything else,” Powers said. “Smashing 1 million cups is great, I guess, but I’d prefer to make something.”
It’s an accomplishment you leave holding in your hands.
One that elicits compliments from even the toughest critics, including my younger brother, who said my knife made him “actually kind of jealous.” His highest form of praise.
Ian Davis-Leonard: 425-339-3097; ian.davis-leonard@heraldnet.com
Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in Sound & Summit magazine, The Daily Herald’s quarterly publication. Explore Snohomish and Island counties with each issue. Subscribe and receive four issues for $18. Call 425-339-3200 or go to soundsummitmagazine.com
IF YOU GO
Lawless Forge Marysville
7224 44th Ave. NE
lawlessforge.com/marysville
Classes start at about $90 for adults; $70 for children
