Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 29

Will was raised near Steelville but moved away from
Missouri after high school. His roaming took him to
Canada, where he worked in the aviation industry. When
that career ended, he bought a piece of the Ozarks sight
unseen, largely for the shop building where he planned to
make tools.
" I don't like living in the city, and working in aviation,
you are going to be in some big city, " Will says. " I moved
down here, started my own business and it was touch and
go. I was doing architectural ironwork, anything I could to
stay busy. "
He points out that the garden tools he makes aren't new
inventions, but improvements on old designs. His versions
start with high-carbon 1075 steel. The basic shape is cut
out, then heated in a gas forge and pounded out by hand
on an anvil or under an air hammer.
Will grinds the tools by hand to ensure a sharp cutting
edge. Then the tool is tempered to be both hard and tough.
The last step is to add a hardwood handle that is protected
with linseed oil.
The result is a tool that is guaranteed for life. " It's
intended to be handed down through the generations, " Will
says of his tools. " The value in handmade tools is I have
complete control of what goes in them and how they are
made. There is no one pulling my string and saying you
need to cut costs here. "
His website lists more than 30 styles of tools, designed
for every type of soil and weeding challenge. Some are classic
designs any gardener will recognize such as the American
Hoe. Will's version includes a tool-steel blade ground
extremely sharp, a shank that is precision tig-welded to
the blade and a heavy ferrule that is shrink-fitted so that
it won't twist or fall out. The handles are 60 inches long, 6
inches longer than most hoes.
One of the more unusual tools he offers is the Ho-Mi
Hand Plow, a Korean tool that can be used to hoe, weed or
lay out furrows with ease. " That's one of my favorite tools
to make, " Will says. " It's a one-piece forging, so a lot of
time at the anvil. "
Jamie puts many of these tools to work in her business.
Top left: This garden trowel is just one of the many hand-forged
garden tools Will makes in his well-equipped shop. Top right: All of
Will's tools are forged from high-carbon steel. Here he pulls a piece of
hot steel from the gas forge, which will be shaped on the swage block
resting on his anvil. Bottom: Will heat treats all of his tools by heating
the steel to critical temperature and then quenching the glowing
steel into an oil bath. Here he gauges the temperature of the metal as
the oil burns off, tempering the material for toughness. His Homestead
Iron tools come with a lifetime warranty.
SEPTEMBER 2024 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 29

http://www.RURALMISSOURI.COOP

Rural Missouri - September 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - September 2024

Contents
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - Cover1
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - Cover2
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - Contents
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 4
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 5
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 6
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 7
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 8
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 9
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 10
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 11
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 12
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 13
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 14
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 15
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 16
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 17
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 18
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 19
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 20
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 21
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 22
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 23
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 24
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 25
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 26
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 27
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 28
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 29
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 30
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 31
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 32
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 33
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 34
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 35
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 36
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 37
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 38
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 39
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 40
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 41
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 42
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 43
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 44
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 45
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 46
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 47
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 48
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 49
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - 50
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - Cover3
Rural Missouri - September 2024 - Cover4
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ruralmissouri/201712
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ruralmissouri/201711
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ruralmissouri/201709
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ruralmissouri/201708
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ruralmissouri/201706
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ruralmissouri/201705
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ruralmissouri/201704
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ruralmissouri/201703
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ruralmissouri/201702
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ruralmissouri/201701
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ruralmissouri/201612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ruralmissouri/201611
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ruralmissouri/201609
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ruralmissouri/201608
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