About SFW

Who am I,

Well to start with, my name is Travis Black. I am a creative creator. The first thing you should know is that I am a Christian. That’s right I believe in God and more than that I believe that He loves me and He actually cares about the things that make me feel alive. He actually gave me the skills and gifts to be able to create. I am eternally grateful. My goal is to use those gifts and skills to create products that not only honor Him but also point others to Him.

Behind that, I am a husband to an amazing woman who lets me be me. She encourages me and strengthens me when I am in need. She also keeps me in check when I spend to much time in the shop. This after all is a part time endeavor that I would like to see grow. but its still part time at the moment.

I am also a father to a little girl that is as wild as she is beautiful. She encapsulates the word joy. She is so much like her daddy it’s scary. From climbing trees, to riding bikes and every daredevil thing you can imagine she is fearless. Like me she is never still and is always making, doing, and bringing joy to those around her.

She has now joined me the shop at the ripe old age of 11. She enjoys making new things whether it is with her cricket, sewing machine or hammer and fire, creating is what she loves. IzzyBee Designs is her side of Sanctified Forge Works. She offers hand forged decor and copper jewelry with new products in development.

my craft

I currently work a full time job in conjunction with all things faith and family. But my passion is creating and always has been. Be it music, art, or a beautiful blade, creating is what drives me. I fell in love with the art of bladesmithing at a very young age. Every little boy likes to hit stuff with a hammer especially if it is on fire. I crafted my first couple knives around the age of 15. They were crude, poorly heated, knife shaped objects. However they were created with my hands.  Sadly at the time I knew of no one that knew anything about making knives. So for many years I had a desire to create something; I just didn’t know how. In 2015 I began the thousand mile journey. I started training Brazilian jiu jitsu. I wrestled in high school and instantly fell in love with the sport. Through my jiu jitsu training, I also began training in filipino blade arts. I owe this training and mind set to pushing me back down the trail of bladesmithing. Because of this interest, I  began to craft my own training and live blades. As my skill increased my tribe began to commission items from me. It gradually grew into something more than just an interest or hobby. I made it my mission to seek out those who would help me grow and continue to push my skill set. I have met so many wonderful people in both the martial and bladesmithing world who will do anything in their power to pass along the knowledge they have acquired. It is because of those people that I am where I am today. I owe them a great deal for teaching me and believing in me. There are truly a thousand hands involved in everything that is created and my products are no different. They are unique expressions infused with history, training, and trial and error. There is nothing new under the sun, but that doesn’t stop me from putting my spin on things. As a craftsman I promise to keep improving and continue growing. I challenge you to do the same. No matter who you are or what do do keep striving for improvement, and climb the ladder of strength every day.