Meet the Maker Mike The Valley Smithey
Welcome to Valley Smithey Ironworks!
I’m Mike, founder of Valley Smithey Ironworks, established in 1993 in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country. This smithy was built from a deep respect for 18th century craftsmanship, traditional American blacksmithing, and the belief that handmade work still matters.
For over three decades, I have traveled across the United States attending living history events, learning from master blacksmiths, and preserving the old ways of working with fire, steel, hammer, and anvil. Those experiences helped shape both my craftsmanship and the values behind Valley Smithey Ironworks.
Early in my career, I operated the blacksmith shop at a well known amusement park in Elysburg, Pennsylvania, where many people came to know me as “The Horseshoe Guy.” Later, I spent years working at a living history museum in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, educating hundreds of children and visitors about traditional blacksmithing, early American tools, and colonial life.
In 2016, I was honored to be selected for Early American Life’s Directory of Traditional American Crafts a recognition awarded to a select group of artisans considered among the finest traditional craftsmen working today.
Blending the Past with the Present
Today, while my heart still belongs to traditional coal fired blacksmith work, the shop has grown to blend historic craftsmanship with modern capabilities. Valley Smithey Ironworks creates everything from hand forged 18th century reproductions and personalized horseshoe keepsakes to blacksmith tools, welding, steel fabrication, and CNC laser cutting.
Because of that versatility, my work can now be found throughout the United States and around the world from historic Williamsburg, Virginia, to Australia.
Crafted One at a Time
Every item is handcrafted one piece at a time in my Pennsylvania shop, Whether I am creating a personalized wedding horseshoe, a 6th or 11th anniversary gift, a memorial keepsake, rustic farmhouse décor, or traditional ironwork, the philosophy remains the same:
Attention to detail matters.
The hammer marks, forging textures, and subtle variations in the steel are not imperfections they are the fingerprints of real handcrafted work shaped by fire, anvil, and hammer.
From the Forge to the Farmstead
Valley Smithey Ironworks operates from our working family homestead, Valley Smithy Farms, where our White Dexter bulls, Max and Cash, are never far from the forge. Alongside caring for our White Dexter cattle, we are also proud to provide a safe forever home for five rescue horses.
For generations, Pennsylvania homes and barns have displayed hand forged horseshoes above their doors as symbols of protection, luck, and prosperity. Carrying on that tradition feels especially meaningful here, where horses continue to be part of daily life on the farm.
Forging a link from the past to the present one hammer swing at a time.
Mike, The Valley Smithey
Valley Smithey Ironworks & Valley Smithy Farms
Made in Pennsylvania, USA
