BONNERS FERRY — The blacksmith of days gone by was a skilled artisan as well as a community resource. They were born of a time when people repaired objects, rather than throw them away. In this tough economic time, there is again a calling to fix rather than replace.

Grant R. Marcoux is the owner and blacksmith of Pilgrim Soul Forge, located just off Highway 95 in Naples. Marcoux has 16 years experience blacksmithing, teaching and public speaking. The business opened in May 2016.

Marcoux was chosen to be a contestant on the History Channel television show Forged in Fire, which features world-class bladesmiths competing to create historical weapons.

“I enjoy recreating historic knives and other artifacts from the 18th and 19th centuries,” Marcoux said. He performs his own heat treating using both modern and primitive methods.

Pilgrim Soul Forge offers a full range of blacksmithing services: forging, tool making and repair, sharpening, welding, metal fabrication, course work in blacksmithing/bladesmithing and welded sculpture. His tools and knives are hand forged to customer specifications.

“Any knife that is made to custom specifications should be a real joy for the buyer to use. It’s got to be sharper, more comfortable and longer lasting than anything they can buy,” Marcoux said.

Marcoux is a gregarious instructor who invites his students to ask questions and learn. He offers both courses, as well as classes.

The courses include:

Beginning Blacksmithing, Intermediate Blacksmithing, Introduction to Bladesmithing, Intermediate Bladesmithing, Welded Sculpture, Welded Fabrication, and Projects in Blacksmithing.

The basic courses range from 15-24 hours.

In the Introduction to Bladesmithing, students make their own outdoor knife, using traditional hand-forging, heat treating and grinding methods. They make the handle and guard and join it, finishing the course with a completed knife.

Marcoux will add a course in damascus, a complex procedure of layering and forge welding different metals together and resulting in a blade that is not only beautiful, but harder and more flexible.

Marcoux is offering an Agricultural Tool Care class this Saturday at his shop from 3-5 p.m. The cost is $20 per student.

When discussing the many different methods used by blacksmiths and bladesmiths, Marcoux summmed it up this way: “Either your tool performs, or it doesn’t.”

More Information: grantsforåge.com