By RNZ Blacksmith Jamie Hughes has a niche business crafting knives and hand-forged metalwork for chefs, farmers and tourists from his old-fashioned smithy in Norsewood. But tough economic times means he’s feeling it from all angles, like many small businesses in rural New Zealand. Hughes has been running the forge for three years now, showing off traditional blacksmithing skills in one of the heritage buildings lining the main street.
Bespoke knives are a specialty of the The Norseman Blacksmith, as well as more decorative metalwork hammered into shape in a corner of the workshop, which has a distinctly Norwegian flavour, echoing the town’s roots. Hughes is proud of his Norwegian heritage and has discovered only recently he is a direct descendant of one of the immigrants on the first ship carrying Norwegians to New Zealand, the Hovding. “I do feel at home here in Norsewood.
” He chairs a group promoting the town and helps run the Viking Festival which takes place there in February. He is self-taught and has spent the past three years growing his 16-year-old hobby into a business. He has customers in Norway and other parts of the world, as well as local farmers and chefs and Scandinavian tourists intrigued by the town’s Norwegian links.
“They see something Norse and they’ve got to have a look.” Hughes was able to employ another blacksmith, Jar Menzies-Winson, who in turn has been helping to train a young student in the craft. “We’re a bit of a dying breed b.