Iron Hill

Iron Hill Taking a new direction in my work. Blacksmithing, bladesmithing, visual arts. Less photography 🙏 Photography is an awesome escape and allows me to clear my head.

Baseplate Photography presents fine art landscape and seascape photography by Beau Smith, an amateur photographer who literally stumbled onto a beach with a camera. Baseplate Photography is a way to show a different view of Australia. It is currently a hobby with a view to pursue professional landscape photography in the future, and as such, I attempt to present my images in a professional manner

on both the internet or in printed form. I picked up a camera several years ago in Afghanistan, and slowly plugged away at it for a few years. Upgrading from a Lumix compact to a 350D, then a 500D with a busted AF drive, I finally could afford a 70D and a decent STM lens. Only late 2015 did I get a pro tripod, previously relying on a 20.00 gumtree special. I don't pretend to be technically proficient and I have a lot to learn, but I have a knack for putting my mood into an image and shaping the light into how I want it to be seen by others. I strongly believe that it's the photographer that creates the image, not the camera. While high quality is important, I think that my images prove that basic gear can be used effectively to create high impact photography. I am gradually adding to my gear and upgrading as I go. If you want something from my work on your wall or as a gift, purchases contribute to my equipment, allowing better images to be taken!

07/08/2026

130mm Nakiri hand forged from dirty wrought iron, nickel and Apex Ultra steel. Handled with river banksia and black flecked jarrah.

06/08/2026

A good knife doesn’t have to shout to get your attention.

This 190mm gyuto is hand forged from Aogami #2, nickel, and salvaged low-carbon steel reclaimed from old Australian farm machinery.

The forged distal taper keeps the blade exceptionally thin behind the edge while maintaining strength where it’s needed. The contrast between the hard core and softer cladding is understated rather than dramatic, and is subtle enough to reward a closer look, The combination of dark steels split by bright nickel complements a full flat grind, something I don’t normally do.

This will be mated with a nice piece of sustainably sourced Jarrah that will suit it nicely.

There’s something really satisfying about giving forgotten steel a second life of service as a tool built to be used every day. Customs availability, limited space. Hand forged in the Perth Hills.

31/07/2026

Warikomi awase is a very old school technique used by Japanese smiths, but the same methods were used all over the world when quality steel was very scarce. Here I am prepping wrought iron and steel inserts to join with forge welding. Attempting to minimise my use of modern tools, I didn’t grind the insert to a wedge shape that I’ve used before, although in hindsight I could have forged the shape. This resulted in quite a difficult forge weld as the bit kept falling free. I also attempted to create 2 blades from each billet, by forging tang pre-forms on each end. It was successful on one but a delamination needed to be chopped from the other. I find this a very difficult technique but love the finished product and process.

29/07/2026

Some integral bolster ASMR and absolutely ridiculous dramatic lighting appeared during this session.

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Kalamunda, WA
6076

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