Why Fire & Steel Is Coming to an End This episode marks the end of the Fire & Steel Podcast. What started nearly 8 years ago as a solo project, with Toby interviewing guests from across the worlds of blacksmithing, craft, and beyond, gradually evolved over time. Eventually Onur joined the show, and later Chris came on board as well, creating a three-person format that allowed the conversation to flow more naturally and made it easier to keep episodes going even when one person couldn’t make it. The podcast changed shape a few times, as many long-running shows do. Like most independent podcasts, it was always something done alongside work, life, and everything else, which sometimes made schedules difficult and episodes harder to keep consistent. About ten weeks ago we attempted a bit of a relaunch — aiming to make the show more structured and intentionally positive, with the goal of putting something constructive out into the world rather than simply reacting to whatever was happening in the news cycle. But despite that intention, the conversations often drifted back toward the same place discussing the problems and negativity that seem to dominate so much of public discourse. For Toby in particular, that raised a bigger question about what the podcast was contributing to the world. A big personal goal is to create things that ultimately honour God and bring something positive into people’s lives. When it became clear that the podcast was continuing to lean toward discussing the negative side of things, it started to feel like the right time to step away rather than continue down that road. So after 8 years, this will be the final episode of Fire & Steel. From Toby Thank you to everyone who has listened along the way — from all of us, and very much from me personally. Through the podcast I’ve had the chance to speak with so many interesting and thoughtful people, and I’ve been fortunate enough to turn many of those conversations into genuine friendships. I’m incredibly grateful for the kindness people have shown me over the years, the things people have done for me, and the opportunities I’ve had to help others as well. While I can’t name everyone, it’s been an absolute privilege to connect with so many people through this show, and I’ll always be thankful for that. A huge thank you as well to the Patreon supporters who backed the show and helped keep it going. Some of you have been supporting us for years, and we’re incredibly grateful for that support. In particular, thank you to: Alex Greenaway, Working Hands Podcast, Keith Colby (Knifematerial.at), Refined by James, Krafty Man Forge, Fingal, Mike Nigh, Tim Kingsford, Tim from Turg Works, AJ (Ajmal Inayat Khan Afridi), Donny Dulevich, Sharman Knives, Coppertop Customs, OnlyFans@BenCuttsKnifeworks, Triple-T Podcast, Brigham Kindell, Northern Iron Forge, Joey Atilano, Ginger – Team Onur, Bob Gore –Metalstorm Forge, Hobby Hawk Knives, and Bryan Hunt (Hidden Rose Forge). Your support genuinely meant a lot to us. And of course, a special thank you to Chris and Onur. Not just for being part of the podcast, but for their friendship as well. Find us at Hammers and hot takes https://www.instagram.com/hammersandhottakes?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&exln=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw== https://www.instagram.com/fireandsteelpodcast/ https://www.instagram.com/murrillforge/ www.murrillforge.com Email info@murrillforge.co.uk Onur https://www.instagram.com/diesineveryfilm/ YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/user/Diesineveryfilm Chris https://www.instagram.com/full_steam_designs/ Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/chrispowellfsd
