Cowboy Szymanski, owner of Phenix Knives, is celebrating his 20th anniversary in Bellville’s historic 1891 Blacksmith Shop on Main Street. Back in 2003, Bellville’s Chamber of Commerce invited Cowboy to set up his historic blacksmithing demonstration in front of the old Blacksmith Shop for the Heritage Gathering - some may remember the longhorn drive on Main Street.
After forging in front of the shop all weekend, Don and Patsy Lawrence, then owners of the Carriage House and Blacksmith Shop, took some time to get to know Cowboy better and persuaded him to move his business into the historic shop. Cowboy had been blacksmithing, working in historical settings, and forging knives since 1997 and jumped at the chance to rebuild this old forge in Bellville.
The quality of his work established his reputation and the demand for his custom knives steadily grew. Visitors to Phenix Knives & Blacksmith Shop get to experience many of the traditions of the ancient art of blacksmithing and tour this historic building, which holds many relics and traces of past generations of smiths.
The shop was built by the E.O. Finn family in 1891 for their carriage building shop, one of several blacksmith shops in Bellville at the time. Finn hired Ben Mewis in 1917, and many long-time Bellville residents remember it being called the Mewis Blacksmith Shop. Cowboy does not work on carriages, but his beautiful custom knives are born in the fires and hammered out on the anvil.
In 2015, Cowboy was invited to compete in the first season of the History Channel’s competition “Forged in Fire.” Through this experience, he gained new friends in the knifemaking industry. In 2018, he had the idea to invite competitors from around the state to the Blacksmith Shop in Bellville so that fans of the show could meet them in person and watch them work and hear their stories. That first year, he hosted 18 bladesmiths from five states at Texas Select from Forged in Fire Event and saw about 2,500 visitors come to the backyard event.
This family-friendly annual event, always on the first week end of April, has continued to grow each year mainly due to the support of the local community and the popularity of the Forged in Fire show. The event has expanded to include reputable knifemakers through the professional guilds beyond the Forged in Fire bladesmiths. It also outgrew the backyard at the Blacksmith Shop and moved to the Austin County Fair Expo Center and adjacent covered show barn.
The April 1-2, 2023, Texas Select Event included over 150 knifemakers coming from 24 states across the nation, plus 30 more vendors. In addition to showcasing some of the best custom knifemakers in the nation, the event supports numerous local non-profits.
