Matt the Norwegian Bachelor Blacksmith
His Story

For those of you that listen to Garrison Keillor and the Prairie Home Companion you will get the joke. For those of you that don't, sorry.

Matt was born in Norway and moved to the States when he was 8 years old. He still tells stories of running around the deck of the ship as they traveled to the United States, and seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time.

His family stayed on the East Coast for about a week before moving to California and eventually moved to the Northwest. Matt fell in love with the majesty mountains and clear blue streams. At around age 18 Matt got a job at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood. His love of fishing in the mountain streams, and skiing made it  a natural for him to settle on the mountain. After years at Timberline he moved to the Willamette Valley but has never lost his love for the Mountain.

The intricate ironwork at the lodge intrigued Matt and he started to research how the work was done. His first anvil was a piece of rail discarded by the railroad. He formed a horn and a heel on the rail and with the help of his Oxy/Acetylene torch and a hammer he started pounding out iron. Now some thirty years later Matt is one of the premier blacksmiths in the US. Matt has over five different anvils, a dozen or more hammers, and too many tongs to count. He graduated from his torch to a coal forge and finally a clean burning propane forge which he uses today.

You can find Matt at any one of several arts and craft shows through out the Northwest. You can find his products at numerous stores along the West Coast. If you see Matt at a show be sure to introduce yourself and tell him you visited his web site.