If you arrive at Red Pig Tools in Boring, Oregon and the shop looks closed, just give the barn bell a ring and chances are Bob or Rita Denman will appear to give you a personal tour.
Photography by Erin Boyle.
But after a long career in advertising, Bob found himself as a product development consultant to Corona Clippers and before long, he was making tools himself.
Follow a rural road in Boring, Oregon, to find Bob Denman hard at work making hand-forged garden tools.
The propane-powered forge where every Red Pig Tool is born.
Bob will tell you that any blacksmith worth his salt makes his own tools.
Bob’s forge and workshop are housed in a shop at the rear of his property, but a newer barn next to the retail shop will allow all visitors to see the tool-making process start to finish.
Bob begins the process of making his Fulcrum Weeder; it’s $24 from Red Pig Tools.
Bob hammers the weeder’s forked end.
A vice grips the weeder and allows Bob to ply the hot steel into the correct shape.
Bob attaches the wooden handle to the weeder using a drill that belonged to his father.
If no one’s in the shop when you arrive, just give the bell a ring or head down to the white farmhouse at the end of the driveway.
Red Pig Tools is open Wednesday through Saturday, from 10 am to 6 pm, or by appointment.
Piles of cultivators and hand rakes ready for sale.