On our way to Asheville, Tom and I swung by Candler, North Carolina to visit Blacksmiths Depot.  Tom has been a blacksmith at different national park sites since 2017 when we worked at San Juan Island English Camp.  Most of the time, he has to build a bellows and furnish his own equipment.  Over time he has built up a great collection of tools.  Many of them were ordered from Blacksmiths Depot.

Going to Blacksmiths Depot was a pilgrimage as well as a shopping trip.  After dealing with them for so long, Tom would get to meet them in person.  He had to make an appointment to shop because most of their business is online.  I was glad to tag along.  Going to Blacksmiths Depot for Tom would be like me going to Yarn Barn of Kansas.  I order most of my weaving and spinning supplies from them and they are always so wonderful with customer service.  I know Tom feels the same way about Blacksmiths Depot.

Blacksmiths Depot is off the beaten path, with lots of twists and turns to get there.  The Depot is run by three generations of the Kayne family.  Grandpa started it, Dad runs it, and Son is working there, learning the business.  Mom answers the phone and does bookkeeping.  The Depot is located on the same property as their home.

When Tom and I made our way up the lane, we were greeted by two friendly dogs.  Fortunately there are signs that directed us to the business.  Otherwise you would be afraid of intruding on private property.  We were greeted by Mom, who talked to us about the business for a while.  Then she handed us off to Dad who invited Tom to look around and answered his questions.

Being inside Blacksmiths Depot was like entering blacksmith heaven.  Every kind of tong, every weight of hammer, every tool that a blacksmith needs was on the shelves.  Tools from all over the world and some forged right there by the Kaynes.  Hand-forged items as well as blanks to make the items yourself.  Anvils to nails to presses to instruction videos.  It was an incredible selection of items.  Meanwhile, a blacksmith was working in the background making custom items.

Tom spent over an hour happily browsing in the aisles and talking to Mr. Kayne.  He picked out two pairs of tongs and debated on a hammer.  In addition, I asked him to make me a jingle bell with one of the bell blanks.  This, of course, meant he needed to buy a cup for rounding the metal.  He has already used the tongs in his blacksmith demonstration and is very pleased with how well they worked.

We enjoyed our visit to this mecca of blacksmithing.  Blacksmiths Depot is the go-to for all blacksmiths, especially for Tom.  I know he will order more things from them in the future and I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up visiting in person again.