Hello all! My name is Jason Ellard and I am a 24 year old blacksmith from Coningham, Tasmania and the man behind Ellard blacksmithing.

How I got started

Thanks to my dad I’ve always been around crafts, he’s been an avid woodworker with a passion for wooden boats for as long as I can remember and because of that I can’t remember a time I haven’t enjoyed spending time in the workshop.

I first got into knife making when I was 14, making knives out of mild steel with an angle grinder and files. At 16 I started selling products before I started blacksmithing by selling anvils made from railway line throughout Australia , and this helped fund the tools and materials for me to get into the craft. Originally I only meant to make myself an anvil, but through the next few years I sold close to 100 anvils all across the country.

I spent many hours online researching about blacksmithing and refining my skills through trial and error, and this eventually led me to partake in a 5 day hammer making masterclass held by Matthew Mewburn at Eveleigh works in Sydney during 2017.

Following this with the help of my parents purchasing me a hand powered fly press which I still use to this day, I sold hammers throughout Australia and internationally while I refined my bladesmithing skills. Knives soon sparked most of my interest, with damascus steel igniting my creativity.

I pursued this for a few years until in 2020 I was luckily enough to take part in a 4 day mosaic damascus masterclass held by ABS mastersmith Kyle Royer at Tharwa valley forge in Canberra.

Since then I have been refining my style and pushing myself to learn new skills and techniques combining mosaic damascus with both culinary knives as-well as hammers. I have plans in the future to expand the workshop, host in-person lessons in blacksmithing and bladesmithing as-well as focusing on creating a YouTube channel and online courses to help beginners get into the craft.