LARGO, Fla. — The art of forging metal with just a hammer and your bare hands is a craft that's been around for thousands of years, but how often do you see people doing it nowadays? Look no further than a local blacksmith in the historic small town of Largo.

Hammer meeting metal, that sound might not feel like music to your ears, but to Robert Buck with Wrought Iron Arts, it's a symphony of sound that he doesn't tire of hearing. 

“It's just like that old adage, strike while the iron is hot. We have to work it," Buck said. 

In his home workshop he crafts and creates works of art with metal. A passion he's been chasing and mastering since he took a few art classes in college. 

But it wasn't until he took his first blacksmith class back in the early 90s that he considered this work, a true profession, starting his own school of blacksmithing and welding. 

Now decades later, he's taken a hobby and turned it into a lifelong passion he loves to share with others.

His specific area of expertise lies in creating Anglo-Saxon knives and weaponary, but like any good artist if you come with an idea or a vision he'll make it happen. 

“We can make all those trendy ones, you want to make it just pull an image up on your phone and we'll make it," Buck said. 

Robert shows that this age old craft of tempering and forging metals is one that still enchants to this day. Proving that the art of learning to blacksmith is a tradition just about anyone can get behind. 

For more information on how to schedule a blacksmith or knife making class, you can head to their website.