Ferromorphics Blacksmithing

Swords and stair railings come out of the same Worcester shop. Ferromorphics is Joshua Swalec's forge on Stafford Street — an artist-blacksmith operation making one-off steelwork: staircases, railings, fences and gates, furniture, decor for homes and businesses, blades, and repairs to metalwork that already exists. The site puts his experience at 21 years, starting with training at Worcester Vocational Technical High School in 1998, and he teaches as well: part-time faculty in the metals department at the Worcester Center for Crafts since 2015, head blacksmith at The Worcshop makerspace since 2016. Worcester Magazine wrote about him in December 2024, describing work that runs from railings and gates for construction jobs to swords. Earlier coverage puts the forge in the local maker scene — a 2020 Clark University piece had him making components at his Millbury shop, and an April 2020 business-journal item paired Ferromorphics with Cotyledon Farm of Leicester to help make shields. A 2013 Worcester Magazine piece described his metal shop at 97 Webster Street, by then eight years in place. Two customers have written on Google, and they land in opposite places. In January 2025 a caller described a long phone conversation with one of the blacksmiths about historical swords: "If you are looking to get a sword made, this is the place." In December 2023 a one-star reviewer wrote that they lost a small amount of money and walked away, warning others to watch their wallet while allowing that the work looked like a skilled pro's. Google shows 3.7 stars across 3 ratings, and the shop's Better Business Bureau file, open under welding since 2018, carries an A+ grade. The credentials Swalec lists are a craft résumé: member of ABANA, the American Bladesmith Society and New England Blacksmiths, a 1998 stick-arc welding certification, Fitchburg Forge-In professional division champion in 2008 and 2010, and an American Bladesmith Society Journeyman Smith performance test passed, with the presentation knives still to come and the rating not yet awarded. For commissioned ironwork — a rail, a gate, a set of balusters, a blade — this is a craft shop rather than a contracting outfit, and estimates are free. Put the commission on paper before steel is cut: the price, what the deposit covers, the milestones you will see along the way, and the delivery date.