Xtreme IronworX by josh helm
specializes in
Blacksmithing
Horseshoe Decor
Ornamental Decor
and Design
specializes in
Blacksmithing
Horseshoe Decor
Ornamental Decor
and Design
Xtreme ironworx is a small family ran business Made up of Josh Helm, Jenny Davis, Chase Davis, Paige Davis and Colt Helm. "Xtreme Ironworx has a long history behind it. My great great grandpa Berry Virgil See made a living as a blacksmith along with my great grandpa Harvey and Harveys brothers, Odie and Bill. They had a string of blacksmith shops. The shops were "See Blacksmith". There were 6 of the shops around Missouri. All the shops were ran by family (See's). Bates city, Odessa, Corder, Grand Pass and Sturgeon were a few of the locations for see blacksmith. Harvey also had patents on farm equipment and the shops had also been implement dealers to broaden the range of business. Grandpa Harvey sold the first International Harvester "reeper" in Laffayette county.Grandpa Harvey had the shop in Bates City which then moved to Odessa. Which is how our family ended up in Odessa. With blacksmithing eventually becoming somewhat out of date after the See's made a living most their lives, after shooting rock in the coal mines by night and Blacksmithing during the day, my grandpa Virgil Elmo See became a welder in the pipe fitter trade . Soon followed my great grandpa Harvey, and my great uncle Berry. My uncle Ron See Sr was also a pipe fitter along with his sons Ronnie jr and Scott. Who are still fitters, Ronnie jr is an instructor at the Kansas city local 533.
Wanting to follow in the family footsteps after looking up to my grandpa and uncle and being raised very close to them, I began attending Lex-La-Ray tech center at the age of 16. Lex-La-Ray was one of the top top schools in the US for welding. I also began racing dirt cars at that time so I was able to use what I learned. I did small fab jobs in school to make some extra money and eventually began building race cars for my self and others. After building ornamental and structural objects off and on for 10 years Jenny encouraged me to go full steam into ornamental iron and Xtreme ironworX was born. I then began to think pretty hard about the art of blacksmithing. In fall of 2010 I resurrected the only piece known to exist and the most important, from the See Blacksmith shops. That piece was a forge. It had been rotting away in a barn or out in the weather for possibly 75 years. It needed ALOT of work but we managed to get it in operating condition along with the original hand crank blower. I then became a member of BAM (blacksmith assoc. of Missouri) and attended the annual Ozark conference. I seemed to do very well, surprising myself and others. At this time we are building many different items and also doing design work such as logos. Our goal in the future is for Xtreme ironworx to be a full time business while using modern and future innovation mixed with the oldest art. Also in the future we would like to start a blacksmithing school to share the art with beginners along with seasoned blacksmiths."
Wanting to follow in the family footsteps after looking up to my grandpa and uncle and being raised very close to them, I began attending Lex-La-Ray tech center at the age of 16. Lex-La-Ray was one of the top top schools in the US for welding. I also began racing dirt cars at that time so I was able to use what I learned. I did small fab jobs in school to make some extra money and eventually began building race cars for my self and others. After building ornamental and structural objects off and on for 10 years Jenny encouraged me to go full steam into ornamental iron and Xtreme ironworX was born. I then began to think pretty hard about the art of blacksmithing. In fall of 2010 I resurrected the only piece known to exist and the most important, from the See Blacksmith shops. That piece was a forge. It had been rotting away in a barn or out in the weather for possibly 75 years. It needed ALOT of work but we managed to get it in operating condition along with the original hand crank blower. I then became a member of BAM (blacksmith assoc. of Missouri) and attended the annual Ozark conference. I seemed to do very well, surprising myself and others. At this time we are building many different items and also doing design work such as logos. Our goal in the future is for Xtreme ironworx to be a full time business while using modern and future innovation mixed with the oldest art. Also in the future we would like to start a blacksmithing school to share the art with beginners along with seasoned blacksmiths."
