THE HORNY VIKING....BLACKSMITH IN ICELAND

So as promised, I'm sliding sideways a little on my recent Icelandic travel posts to talk about the blacksmith's shop I visited while there. It is in the town of Akureyri and YES it really is called the HORNY VIKING. Hell, he even has a facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/Horny-Viking-123604961066619/

I was in Iceland working on the last Fast N Furious movie, TOO FAST, TOO FURIOUS. We had plenty of locals working with us and one of the drivers shuttling us noticed I wore a Mjölnir necklace....commonly referred to as a Thor's Hammer. You me wearing it here, on my drive down to his shop.

He explained how surprised he was to see an American wearing it, I explained I had done so for over 30 years throughout all of my military time and on every big stunt I had ever done. He laughed and pulled out his.....HIS Mjölnir pendant you perves, get your minds out of the gutter. He went on to tell me about the blacksmith who made it and explained that he was just an hour away and gave me the contact info.

I tried to get there several times, but he kept a very eclectic schedule and every time I was down in town, he wasn't open. Finally, our time up north was over and it was time to head to Reyjavik. This was my last chance to go there and get a handmade hammer from an Icelandic blacksmith.....no answer on his phone. DAMN So with no choice, I started my drive south.

When I was almost there, and would pass through never to return, luck won out.....or perhaps Odin & Thor intervened, since I was on a mission to buy a Mjölnir pendant. Regardless, the phone rang, it was the blacksmith, and he said he could be there in 15 minutes. SUCCESS

The owner was AWESOME and kindly opened up his entire shop to me, not just the showroom. It isn't a huge operation, but it was very cool and his work was amazing. Knives, axes, jewelry....all designed by him and made by hand. The is the Mjölnir pendant design that I was interest in, with some keys next to it to show size. These are made from black iron.

Once I got there I saw that he made a plethora of items. But his focus was on knives....and they are pretty cool. Each one is a custom design. Here are a few of them.

He even sold just blades for those that wanted to make their own handles.

He also made jewelry. He embraced the blacksmith/forge idea and as such, the jewelry is mostly rough hewn in a more historical design. I always liked that better. Some of his work involved wood carving and bone and antler work. Some examples.

It was a great visit, with a master craftsman who was also a super nice guy. I got my new "Thor's Hammer" made by an authentic Icelandic blacksmith, while in Iceland, and wore it for the rest of the movie....and still do.

So if you get up to Northern Iceland, stop by....or check out his FB page as I believe he does mail order. Bye for now fellow steemsters.