A Link to the Past: An Interview with Jacob Phillips of Six Gen Forge

Today’s industry interview is presented by our friends at Solo Stove. Just in time for Independence Day, Solo Stove is offering some of their best deals yet! Follow this link for up to 50% off all fire pits, fire pit bundles and shelters.

Over the past several months, I’ve had many different answers to the question, ‘How did you get into forging?’ For some, they became interested when they were children. For many, the popularity of the show Forged in Fire was a key factor. But Jacob Phillips’ interest in blacksmithing runs deeper; it’s in his blood.

Jacob is the owner of Six-Gen Forge, LLC in Appleton, Wisconsin. Although he has only been smithing for three years, he felt a connection from the moment he picked up his hammer. After speaking with his uncle, Jacob learned that their family was riddled with smiths. As he learned more and began tracing his lineage, he discovered he is a sixth-generation blacksmith.

We sat down with Jacob to talk about his family history, his multiple appearances on Last Blade Standing, and what it is like to come from a family of blacksmiths.

Jacob’s blacksmithing origin story

BRUTE de FORGE: My first question is always, how did you get into forging? In your case, it sounds like this part has a bit of history.

Jacob Phillips: There are three big parts of my life that got me to where I am right now. The first was I wanted a unique hobby. I didn't want to be like everybody else. I like telling people that my hobby is blacksmithing and hearing their reactions. So, for me, I enjoy the super unique aspect of it. My family has always been hands-on with metalworking, and I loved shop classes in high school. Originally, I was going to go to school to become a CNC machinist, but decided it just wasn't the best path for me. I always thought having a woodworking shop or metalworking job would be cool.

“I wanted a unique hobby. I didn’t want to be like everybody else.”

The second was from when I was a little kid. I remember sitting in my uncle's living room and listening to him talk about our family history, and I thought it was super cool. I love the historical side of things, but I didn't realize how much it tied into smithing. Once I got into it, I started talking to my dad and my uncle, and they said we had this generational history of blacksmithing in our family. So, I had multiple conversations with my uncle. He did a lot of the research that I have today. I've been digging into the history a lot myself to get a better understanding of it all.

Finally, my mental and physical health was a factor. Like many others, I also enjoyed watching the show Forged in Fire. So many people said forging helped their mental health, and I thought it might help mine. I enjoyed smithing, and it did help, but I also weighed my heaviest, around four hundred and thirty-seven pounds. At that point, I was about a year and a half into smithing and doing it in my garage. I would get winded just swinging the hammer, and, to a certain extent, I didn't enjoy it anymore. My cousin unexpectedly passed away at twenty-seven, which was a big eye-opener for me. I reevaluated my life and said I wanted to smith and spend more time with my family.

This was a big turning point in my smithing journey. I had weight loss surgery, built a shop with my father, and started to build my business.

Blacksmithing runs in Jacob’s blood

BDF: Is this where the name of your forge comes from? Six Gen Forge.

JP: Yes. I'm truly the sixth-generation blacksmith that we can track. It could go back further, but we're strictly going off census data right now.

At a certain point, as we trace people back, the census just lists their occupation as “farmer.” Often, a farmer was also a blacksmith. We can make it to about 1860 before it starts to say “farmer,” and things get a little fuzzier.

BDF: You sent me quite a few pictures. Can you take us through your family history? What do you know about the other blacksmiths?

JP: From the census data, we can see that Delos, the first generation, was one of eight kids. His father and two brothers were heavily involved in the Civil War. They lived in New York, but when they moved to Wisconsin, they were on the wealthier side and part of the upper class. According to the 1860 census, Delos had one-thousand dollars in real estate and a personal value of ninety dollars. At the time, that was a lot of money. Looking at some of the maps of the plots of the land, the average person had anywhere between twenty-five and eighty acres. Delos had one hundred and twenty acres, so he had a more significant acreage than most. Looking at the entire family in the area, we can see they had about four hundred and eighty acres of land, which was most of the town.

Delos lived from 1822 to 1901, and on the census, he was listed as a blacksmith. He's the first one we can actually say was a blacksmith. You can see a photo of Delos and Margaret Phillips in the images I sent. It’s one of the only pictures we have of them.

BDF: I wonder if they did any blacksmithing during the Civil War. As battlefield blacksmiths, maybe.

JP: At this point, we can’t tell that based on the information we have, but that would be neat to find out. One of the brothers, Giles Phillips, was a cook. Another one of his brothers, Josiah Phillips, received a medal of honor for capturing a Confederate flag.

My personal favorite to research was Merrick, Delos’ son. He is the second generation and lived from 1848 to 1914. He was one of three kids. The first picture I sent was of his gravestone, which has an anvil with a hammer on top. That is in De Pere, Wisconsin, and you can go see it today.

The third generation is Julius. Julius lived from 1899 to 1967 and was one of six kids. I still have Julius's anvil today, which I use when forging. We can track it back to Julius, and some of his touch marks are still on the anvil. It could be older, but we can’t say for sure. Julius had a shop in Medina, Wisconsin. He was a farrier, worked on many plow blades, but was well known not only for smithing but his tracking on the wagons he made. Julius was very particular in how he squared his wagons, which was why they tracked so well. There is a sign that says “Julius Phillips and Sons”, and that was the sign that hung in front of the shop. Julius' sons made that sign by hand with some duct tape and spray paint. That sign hangs in my shop today.

Julius was one of two blacksmiths in Medina, Wisconsin. There was one on each side of town. Julius's shop burned down at one time. I don't have a timeframe of when that happened, but we know it burned down.

My grandpa, Ralph, would be the fourth generation. Ralph was one of eight kids, and he apprenticed under Julius as a blacksmith before he and all his brothers enlisted in the Army. He stopped apprenticing at that point and was stationed in Germany. When he came back, he went into the union sheetmetal trade. That's where he finished off most of his career. Once he retired, he opened up his custom fab shop. He is still alive, but he has dementia. It is hard because I wish I could ask him so much more about blacksmithing, but he just doesn’t know.

“It is an honor to be the sixth generation... Not only do I have a cool and unique hobby, but I have a special way of keeping the tradition of blacksmithing alive. To me, that’s special.”

Jeff, my uncle, is the fifth generation. He had a shop down in Tennessee and was part of the Clinch River Blacksmith Guild. That's where he learned a lot of his skills. He got really good at making leaves, and now he incorporates them into many of his projects. That is his trademark. One of his most significant projects was doing a wagon like Julius was known for. He did a lot of research and built one, which was cool. Jeff also volunteered at the Museum of Appalachia, where he would perform blacksmith demonstrations.

Finally, there's me!

BDF: What does it mean to you to know that you are the sixth-generation blacksmith of your family?

JP: To me, I would say it is an honor to be the sixth generation. In the 1800s, I am sure this wasn’t just a hobby or something fun to do. I am sure it was hard work as they didn’t have the modern conveniences I have. Not only do I have a cool and unique hobby, but I have a special way of keeping the tradition of blacksmithing alive. To me, that’s special.

BDF: Can you tell from the history if any of your family members had a specialty? I know you said the one did horse trailers.

No. Merrick and Delos were farmers as well as blacksmiths, but that's the most we can find from them.

BDF: Is your dad a blacksmith as well?

JP: A lot of people are surprised that my dad is not the fifth generation. People assume that it would be my dad and not my uncle. My dad is still heavily involved in a big piece of it. He also has a millwright background and was in the sheet metal union. He's a big metal fabricator and has a metal fabricating business. My forge and my press are homemade with the help of my dad. When stuff breaks, he always comes to the rescue to fix it. I was doing a batch of different types of Damascus this last week, and one of the bolts sheared off on my press. I thought I would be down for six to eight hours trying to figure it out, but he had some little trick, and he came in three minutes later, and it was working. So, I'm super thankful for him because there are so many times when he has come in and saves the day.

BDF: Dads are good at doing that! Are you a full-time blacksmith?

JP: No. I've been in community banking since 2016. I started as a consumer lender, and now I am a mortgage lender. All my forging is done at night and on the weekends. We ended up building a shop in my parent’s backyard. I had one in my garage and was told I had to remove it by the insurance company. I tried to find a commercial property, but that was too expensive. So, we share a shop, and my dad and I will split it for our projects.

Jacob’s trial by fire

BDF: Do you consider yourself primarily a blacksmith or a bladesmith?

JP: I do a little bit of everything. There's something about it that is just settling to me. I feel like I caught on quickly. I can tell it's in our blood because it feels so natural. I've done some cool projects, both blacksmithing and blade smithing, but I have spent more time doing blacksmithing. I'm newer to the bladesmithing side, but I enjoy both. I did seasons one and three of Last Blade Sanding, and they were a lot of fun.

BDF: I wanted to ask how many seasons you had done. I knew you did season three, but I wasn’t sure about the others.

JP: I wanted to do season two, but I never reached out to do it. That's when I had my surgery, so I focused on that.

BDF: How did you become a contestant in season one?

JP: I reached out. I had a friend from Chicago that was also in season one, and he told me to get on TikTok and check it out. I did and decided to give it a shot. One of my first fully finished knives, let alone my first competition, was season one of Last Blade Standing! I was super proud of the blade that I made. Everything else I ever made was practicing hammering in bevels or twisting railroad spikes.

BDF: Were you nervous to find out it was a sword?

JP: Going into the season, I was preparing for every scenario. Some hints were slowly coming out, and I guessed it would be a sword or a spear. My biggest concern was how I would heat treat a sword because I only had my kitchen oven to temper with. I didn't know what I was going to do, but when I found out it was a short sword, I felt a lot better.

BDF: Is there anything you would like to see for season four?

Honestly, my shop is set up for anything at this point. I'm game for anything. I know they did a canister one in season two. I'd be game for a canister challenge or some other crazy challenge to up the bar from that standpoint.

“I focused on how I could push the limits of everything. ”

I liked the way that Doc had it set up this year. I liked that there were general parameters, but he left it loose on all the details. It allowed us to put our own spin on our blades.

BDF: Was there an inspiration behind your design?

JP: I focused on how I could push the limits of everything. My sword was 1200 plus layers of Damascus. I had also never made mokume-gane before. I enjoy the artistic side of blade smithing between the patterns, colors, and lines. I think this is where I fell short in this year’s competition. I was so focused on the overall look of the blade and not focused on how it would hold up to the different tests.

BDF: Do you have a favorite project that you have done?

JP: My absolute favorite project I did was a quadrant. Someone wanted a gift for their significant other for Christmas. They wanted a sturgeon spear but wanted it to look like Jason Momoa’s staff from Aquaman. It was one of the craziest projects that I've ever done. It turned out awesome!

I would say my second favorite item I’ve forged was my sword from Last Blade Standing Season 3. There are many elements and new things I tried. Jumping up to 1200-layer Damascus was a massive feat for me. I had only gone up to 500 before that. Also, the mokume-gane was a challenge due to never tried it before.

My favorite thing to make in the shop right now is Raindrop Damascus. Something about the pressing, drilling the holes, and drawing it out is satisfying.

BDF: Do you make Damascus and sell it? I saw on your Instagram that you post quite a few for sale.

JP: Yes, I do. I also started making stabilized handle material and offering vinyl cutting services for stencils and etching. Early on, when I was first starting, there were five or six big stores where I could get my materials, but with where I'm located, the cost of shipping is insane. The closest steel supplier that I have is out of Chicago, and that is about four and a half hours away from me. But starting out, I couldn’t afford a lot of the material. I had just built a shop and had all this overhead on my forge, press, and grinder, not including the shop itself! Besides all that, I was concerned about getting good quality products, let alone the right materials.

“By providing the items on my site, I hope it allows these smiths to try something or make something before investing heavily into equipment. ”

So, I wanted to do something from one bladesmith to another bladesmith. I wanted to look out for the people just starting. I remember the frustrations of trying to figure everything out when I started and trying to weed through all the information. The last thing I want is for a new smith to get discouraged because they don’t have access or can’t afford all the equipment. By providing the items on my site, I hope it allows these smiths to try something or make something before investing heavily into equipment. That’s why I am doing it. It's not necessarily a huge moneymaker, but I’m passionate about supporting other smiths in my community. I'm fortunate to have what I have, and I want to share.

BDF: That’s amazing and proves, once again, that the blacksmithing/bladesmithing community is unlike any other.

JP: One of the best choices I made was getting on TikTok. I’ve made so many friends in the community. One of the guys, Jason Burks from Monkey Made Custom Knives, is brilliant. Jason drives a semi, so I will reach out while he is driving to chat about smithing. If I get stuck, he takes the time to give me feedback and suggestions. He also critiques what I am working on honestly, not to be rude, but to help me grow. What I've found along the way is that someone knows someone who will know the answer. It's cool how we're all able and willing to help each other along the way.

Aspirations for Forged in Fire

BDF: Do you have any aspirations to be on Forged on Fire?

JP: Yes, I absolutely would love to be on Forged in Fire. Will I ever be ready? I don't know.

BDF: Nobody's ever ready to be on Forged in Fire! After talking to so many contestants, I can tell you that no one ever thinks they are ready.

JP: You know, it's funny. As I work on blades, even making Damascus and stuff, after watching so many episodes, I think, “If I had two hours to make this into a blade right now, could I do it?” The answer is always, “Heck no!” Plus, making it to the quality levels that I see on that show! I don't know if I will ever be ready to go on the show. But if the opportunity ever arose, it would be fun to meet the judges and other contestants in the community from across the United States.

Jacob’s advice to aspiring smiths

BDF: Do you have any advice for aspiring bladesmiths or blacksmiths?

JP: If you're beginning your journey, I think taking a class to see if you enjoy blacksmithing or bladesmithing helps. I offer classes and know others who do as well. When you first start, you see a lot of people's work and say, “Oh my gosh, what I made looks nothing like that.” That's okay.

“There is always something that I’m learning. If you mess up, don’t take it personally; look at what you did and try to learn from your mistake because it will make you that much better. ”

I still get frustrated when I have a billet break or blow apart when I'm trying to forge weld. The first thing that the guys will say to me is, “Did you learn something?” And I always do. The metal got too hot, or I didn't clean this part well enough, or something else. There is always something that I'm learning. If you mess up, don't take it personally; look at what you did and try to learn from your mistake because it will make you that much better. Remember, you're having fun. You're doing something new, something that not many people do, so enjoy it.

To see more from Jacob, follow him on Instagram @6genforge and visit his website sixgenforge.com. While you are checking out Jacob’s work, go ahead and give us a follow on Facebook and Instagram @brutedeforgedotcom. Don’t forget, you can also find us on Apple News and Google News. Just search “brute de forge” and click that follow button.