Not only does Mike Hoffman love history, he makes a living with it. He’s a blacksmith and historical re-enactor, going to rendezvous across Minnesota selling wares and demonstrating his trade.

 

“It started out as a hobby, grew into a passion, and is now a full blown lunacy,” says Hoffman.

 

Hoffman has always had a knack for metalwork. His dad, Larry Hoffman, was a well-known machinist in the St. Cloud area, and he learned from him, high school shop classes, and the machine tool technology program he attended.

 

After graduating, he went on to work as a machinist foreman in a variety of shops, spending over seven years working for the University of Minnesota as a laboratory machinist, where he did prototype medical, research and experimental work. 

 

After the department closed, Hoffman opened his own business, Bio Medical Research and Design.

 

In 1996, Hoffman heard a man named John Donelson was blacksmithing and building black powder rifles. He was intrigued and paid Donelson a visit.

 

“We clicked from the start,” said Hoffman. “I had the machine background and he had the blacksmith knowledge.”

 

A month from the day they met they did their first rendezvous. They became co-workers and have been good friends ever since.

 

Hoffman faced numerous obstacles in his path to becoming a blacksmith. First, while building a custom gun barrel, his hand was caught in the metal turning lathe, tearing off his last two fingers. His ring finger was reattached, but 18 months of therapy followed. Using his blacksmith tongs helped him get his grip back.

 

Shortly after, he began having problems with his eyesight, and over the course of the next two years had 14 eye surgeries. They saved his vision but left him in debt, and he had to sell his shop to pay the bills.

 

This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as he turned to blacksmithing fulltime.

 

“I’m much happier now than ever in my life,” said Hoffman.

 

During the summer Hoffman and his wife, Diane, travel the state participating in historical shows. 

 

Throughout the year he makes 15 to 20 dozen axes a year to sell, along with cooking irons, decorative ironwork, and replicas of the historical items for re-enactors.

 

Along with blacksmithing and rendezvous, Hoffman began giving blacksmithing classes 10 years ago, which is his favorite thing to do. He averages 75 to 100 students a year, the youngest student he’s had was a 10-year-old girl, the oldest a 79-year-old retired blacksmith. 

 

A couple years ago he was invited to display his axes at the Minnesota Institute of Art at their “Meet the Makers” black tie event. 

 

While there, he met a man who was looking for someone to help with props for a movie set. The show was Secrets from the Alamo, an episode from America Unearthed on the History Channel. 

 

Hoffman not only helped with the props and technical advice on period clothing, he ended up acting in the episode, shooting his muzzle loader off the towers of Fort Snelling. The episode aired Nov. 8, 2014.

 

Hoffman will be at the Clearwater Heritage Days this weekend at the rendezvous being held at Riverside Park. The event is free to the public and open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

 

“With rendezvous we teach self sufficiency skills,” he explained. “These types of events draw people and bring communities together.”

 

“The first time I ever saw a blacksmith was on a school trip to Fort Snelling,” Hoffman said. “He was pouring lead balls for a muzzle loader and gave me one. It sparked my interest in history and I still have it.

 

“Now I try to do the same thing, teach kids and get them interested. People can do so much; one thing can change the direction of a person’s life. Rendezvous touch a lot of people, whether they learn a skill or just have fun.”

 

Hoffman can be contacted at 320-743-2022, or mjhd@cloudnet.com.