Fallen Willow Forge

03/21/2026

Working on a plan to restart the public workshops, details to follow.

12/28/2025

A slightly different topic, recently I purchased a 3D printer to make patterns for metal casting as a complimentary side to my regular blacksmith activities. Well it turns out that designing 3D prints is every bit as addictive as forging hot metal. On occasion, my eighteen month old grandson watches Porco Rosso, a 90's anime produced by the famous Studio Ghibli in Japan. He loves Poroc's plane, a Savoia S21, so Papa found a file on the World Wide Web and ten hours later.......! He hasn't seen this yet and I can't wait to see his face once he does. In addition to Porco, he's showing great interest in planets, rockets and all things 'Spacey', so Papa threw-in a custom designed rocket ship, two flying saucers and four rovers just to keep things interesting.

10/29/2025

Well another great Scaryfest was held at the Markham Museum this past weekend and once again I was happy to be invited to demonstrate in their 200+ year old Smithy! This year I have to give a special shout out to Shannon and Zain members of the Museum staff. As luck (bad Luck) would have it I had a cold two weeks out from the event that turned into Laryngitis just in time for the event. I was able to forge, but unable to speak which is a problem when just about every other person that watches my demos has questions! Shannon quickly round up the troops and enlisted the help of Zain, who had attended a two day forging training session I provided for museum staff two years earlier. His familiarity with many of the process I used was just the ticket to restore communications with the crowds of folks watching as I forged. Zain also covered my lunch break during which time he forged a hook while visitors watched intently! Here's the items I forged during the demos.

10/17/2025

Looking for some good family Pre-Halloween fun? Come on out to Markham Museums Scaryfest on Oct 25th and 26th. Tons of attractions and activities for the whole family. Drop by the Blacksmith shop and say Hello.

09/24/2025

This Saturday is Markham Museum's Applefest, in fact it's their 40th Annual Applefest. If you're looking to do something the whole family will enjoy then come on out and partake in all that Applefest has to offer. Drop by the Blacksmith shop and say hello.

07/04/2025

Looking for something to do? Markham Museum has got you covered on Saturday July 5th. 2025 with the Kickin it Country event! Drop by the historic Blacksmith Shop where I'll be demonstrating.

🤠🎉 Don’t Forget — Kickin’ It Country is TOMORROW!
Get ready for an afternoon of live music, line dancing, food, drinks, and local vendors!

The weather is looking perfect for a fun day at the Museum!

📍 July 5 | 3PM–8PM | Markham Museum
🎟️ Last chance to grab your tickets — MarkhamMuseum.ca

06/09/2025

May 31st, 2025 was a banner day for the Georgina Village Museum (formerly Georgina Pioneer Village) as it celebrated 50 years of operation in the Town of Georgina. I had the privilege of providing Blacksmith demonstrations right outside the museum's Smitty. Met lots of great folks and had a blast. I highly recommend that you take in all that this venue has to offer as it continues over the next fifty years to preserve the heritage and history of Canada's story.

06/09/2025

Just finished an order from a customer in Toronto to retrofit a patio table, salvaged during recycling day, into a laneway gate. Features a unique forged latch of riveted construction as well as a split cross forged from a railroad spike also called a Friedrich's Cross named for the Blacksmith that first came up with the idea for its design.

03/25/2025

Just finished another great weekend R.R. Spike Knife workshop with Alessandro and Lorenzo. This father and son duo smashed out a couple of beauties. Great job guys!

03/04/2025

Message regarding potential Starlink interruption due to Ontario's retaliatory measures to Trump's tariffs on Canada.

As most who follow Fallen Willow Forge on FB are aware, StarLink is our connection to the internet. Should Premier Ford decide to cancel $100 million in contracts specifically for StarLink ,Fallen Willow Forge will go dark on Social Media for a unspecified amount of time. Should this occur, anyone interested in workshops, custom iron work or demonstrations should contact me at 289 552 6090.
During any StarLink interruption I will occasionally be checking email using a hotspot, however this is not a viable long term solution.

Regards
John Walker
Fallen Willow Forge

02/18/2025

Another great workshop on the weekend and a first for Fallen Willow Forge, hosting Lindsey and Nate as they forged two really nice railroad spike knives in celebration of their 6th anniversary (the gift for the 6th is Iron).

Great job guys!

01/23/2025

Trudeau and the Liberal/NDP have left Canada to flounder during a period when a strong government is needed. It seems the fortunes of our narcissistic PM and his crumbling party are far more important that the future of our country.

With Parliament shuttered, a key American irritant, border security, cannot be addressed.