Architectural Ironwork
Driveway gates, railings, Juliet balconies and entry doors — engineered for decades of weather and made to anchor the home around them.
Explore ironwork
Est. 2014 · Asheville, NC
Hand-forged metalwork, built to outlast the trends.
From architectural iron gates to heirloom kitchen knives, every piece from the Lantern Forge is shaped by hand, tempered by fire, and finished to the standard our grandfathers would recognize.
11
Years at the anvil
340+
Commissions delivered
27
States shipped
5★
Average client rating
What we make
Six crafts under one roof.
We're a small studio by design. That means your project gets the same two hands on it from the first sketch to the final quench — no subcontractors, no shortcuts, no mass production.
Custom Blades & Tools
Chef's knives, hatchets, drawknives and carving tools forged from high-carbon steel, heat-treated in our shop, and sharpened to a working edge.
See the bladesFireplace & Hearth
Hand-forged fire pokers, log racks, andirons and screen sets — pieces that earn their place above the mantel and outlast the trends that come and go.
Hearth piecesLighting & Lanterns
Indoor sconces, exterior lanterns and chandeliers forged in solid iron or brass. UL-listed wiring, hand-rubbed patinas, made to your ceiling height.
Browse lightingRestoration & Repair
Antique hardware, family heirlooms and storm-damaged ironwork returned to service. We reverse-engineer worn parts by eye and forge replacements in-house.
Restoration workCommercial & Hospitality
Restaurant interiors, hotel signage, brewery tap handles and retail fixtures — production runs from 1 to 100 pieces, finished to a consistent standard.
Commercial work
Why commission us
Slow work, made on purpose.
Plenty of shops can bend a bar of steel. The difference is what happens between the first drawing and the final fit — and that's where we spend our time.
One maker, start to finish
Your project is never handed off to a junior. The person who draws it is the person who forges it, files it, fits it and signs it.
Materials we can vouch for
Domestic mild steel, salvaged wrought iron, American-made high-carbon blade stock and solid brass. No mystery alloys, no offshore dropship.
Honest lead times
We quote realistic build windows and we meet them. If a piece needs eight weeks at the fire, we'll tell you — and explain why rushing shows.
Warranty that means something
Lifetime warranty against weld failure on all ironwork. Blades get free re-sharpening for the first year. If something's off, we make it right.
How a commission works
From the first sketch to the last polish.
Every project follows the same five steps — the only thing that changes is the steel and the person on the other end of the conversation.
1
Consult
A 30-minute call or shop visit. We listen, sketch on the spot, and tell you honestly whether we're the right shop for what you need.
2
Design
Scaled drawings, material samples and a fixed-price quote. You see what you're getting before a hammer ever swings.
3
Forge
Stock is cut, heated to welding orange, and shaped at the anvil. Progress photos go to your inbox at every major milestone.
4
Finish
Grind, file, sand, patina or hot-black. We match the finish to your architecture, your hardware and how you'll actually live with the piece.
5
Deliver
White-glove crating and freight for large ironwork, or a hand-delivered handoff for local commissions. We install when the project calls for it.
Selected work
Recent commissions from the forge.
A handful of pieces we've shipped in the last twelve months — full case studies and process galleries live over in the portfolio.
From the workshop floor
What clients say after the install.
We let the work and the word-of-mouth do most of the talking. Here's a small sample of feedback from the last few commissions.
"Our entry gate arrived crated like a museum piece — and installed the same day. Five years of Carolina winters later, the iron still looks like the day they hung it."
"I've bought a lot of chef's knives and this is the first one that feels like it was made for my hand specifically. The balance point is exactly where they said it would be."
"They reverse-engineered a broken finial off my grandmother's 1908 porch railing and shipped a perfect match in six weeks. I'd given up on that piece."
Got a piece in mind? Let's talk steel.
Tell us what you're imagining — even if it's just a rough sketch on a napkin.