Lee Sauder

Lee began blacksmithing in 1973 at the age of 12, when he began his apprenticeship to Larry Mann. He has been a member of ABANA since 1974. After a 2 year flirtation with higher education, Lee’s journeyman years included stints with OK Barnes of Camden Maine, Chris Axelson of Carmel California, and Vaclav Jaros of Prague (then) Czechoslovakia. He returned home to Lexington, Va. to take over Woods Creek Forge from Larry Mann in1984. He has continued in the blacksmithing business to this day, forging sculpture, custom furniture, architectural iron, hardware, and tools. He is perhaps best known in the blacksmithing community for his researches into ancient ironsmelting techniques, which has been the primary focus of his work since 1998. He has traveled widely, from the British Isles to the Middle east and Africa, both to teach iron smelting and to assist archaeologists in understanding ancient iron smelting technologies.