Joe Sitton Forges Friendships and Stunning Works of Steely Art

Joe Sitton Forges Friendships and Stunning Works of Steely Art

By Miles Kresic

A pillar of the community and an accomplished craftsman, Joe Sitton maintains a small forge in The Plains where he’s been creating intricate pieces of steel artwork and doing repairs for countless local clients for many years.

A farrier by profession, Sitton’s stunning work coming out of his Ironheart Forge has had a profound affect on many people in Virginia and beyond, almost entirely through word of mouth. Many of his projects take dozens, even hundreds of hours of work to complete, especially his gates and decorative pieces. One such piece, a beautiful iron grapevine featuring dozens of handmade leaves, took 475 hours.

The tools octogenarian Sitton uses are unique, mainly because many of the hammers and other implements in his shop are no longer being produced.That’s the case with some of the heavy equipment as well, such as a large green and yellow press dating back to the 19th Century. All of this machinery does not come cheaply, with an estimated $100,000 worth of equipment in the forge.

Master Artisan Joe Sitton

Photos by Miles Kresic

A typical Sitton creation.

Still, despite the valuable cost of his tools and its upkeep, Sitton still provides great value to his clients. “Our rates are pretty much below everyone else in the country,” he said. “It’s the cost of staying in business.”

Growing up in Bedford County, Virginia, Sitton learned to ride and rope from a horse trainer as a teenager, when he also was first introduced to shoeing and blacksmithing. After high school, Sitton trained horses and was a blacksmith apprentice. He worked as a farrier for 25 years and then opened Ironheart Forge in the mid-1990s.

And he obviously takes pride in the quality of his intricate work.

“If you’re not happy with my product, it won’t go through that door over there”, he said, gesturing to the shop exit. “You gotta be satisfied with what I do or I won’t sell it to you. And I have to be satisfied first. If I’m not satisfied with the quality of the work, we heat it up and beat it into something else.”

The most common objects he makes are hooks, garden and yard gates. His favorite creations are steel flowers and leaves. His steel roses have made their way to 38 different states and five foreign countries.

Sitton not only does artistic projects but also helps out anyone in need of repairs or installations. From fixing combines to installing railings free of charge, Sitton is more than willing to lend a helping hand.

He described one family he recently helped as “good people and they’ve served the community well. They couldn’t afford a railing but they needed one up and down their steps.”

Sitton believes offering his services to someone in need is one of the most important things anyone can do. “You’ve got to give back,” he said. “If you hog it all to yourself, fat hogs go to slaughter”.

Sitton is always eager to teach the skills he’s honed over many years and often hosts those who are willing to learn about smithing and metalworking at the forge.

“If you retain this knowledge and don’t spread it on to other people it’s wasted knowledge,” he said.”When I’m gone, the knowledge will have gone with me and I won’t have shared it with anybody.”

He encourages anyone to stop by, the better to get in touch with their inner smith.

For more information, go to www.joesitton.com