Restoring Tradition

At Traditions Workshop in Fort Walton Beach, the past and present coexist. Antique tools and old, weathered machinery, some dating back more than a hundred years, sit comfortably alongside power tools of the twenty-first century. But this isn’t a museum—the tools are meant to be used as reminders that craftsmanship can connect history with contemporary practices.

“All the tools in the shop have a story,” says David Sandlin, a retired Air Force pilot turned master craftsman.

Among the collection in the shop are family heirloom tools like the Swedish hammer passed down from Sandlin’s grandfather, proof that the tradition is both inherited and shared. After 22 years in the military and more than a decade in software engineering, Sandlin started Traditions in 2014 as a garage hobby.

“It was supposed to be small, but word of mouth turned it into a business.”

Photo by Dave Barfield

After three years working from his home garage, Sandlin was maxed on equipment and project space. He soon moved Traditions over to its permanent location in Fort Walton Beach.

Traditions operates as both a workshop and a classroom, run by Sandlin and his son, Christopher. The business is built around its principle of The Three Rs: restoration, refinishing, and repair. Customers bring in broken, stained, chipped, and scratched heirlooms, such as tables, chairs, and trunks, hoping the Sandlins can breathe new life into them. One customer even brought in a century-old, broken brass baby crib for repair. Sometimes, the repair might mean French polishing a tabletop or sourcing materials to repair the crib or a cherished chair that needs new legs.

The Sandlins aren’t purists for the sake of nostalgia.

“We’ll use modern tools,” Sandlin says. “The costs would be prohibitive if you did everything with hand saws and planes. We try to keep costs down, but materials for custom jobs can be expensive before we even add in labor. A plumber is $160 an hour, an auto mechanic $125; we’re offering the same kind of skilled service.”

Photo by Dave Barfield

But Traditions is more than a place to drop off a project. It’s also a classroom where students can learn the fundamental folk skills of blacksmithing, leatherwork, woodworking, and stained glass. Beginners start with simple projects that cater to all skill levels. For blacksmithing, it might be learning how to forge steel to make hooks and nails before moving on to knives, spears, or even what Traditions calls an apocalypse tomahawk.

Classes are kept small, usually four to eight students, and often run in five- to seven-hour Saturday sessions. Students hammer, shape, and forge under watchful eyes and leave with something tangible.

Coppersmithing classes are especially popular, where students hammer out bowls or forge copper roses in shades of black, brown, green, blue, and red.

“Right before Valentine’s Day is a great time to learn that one,” Christopher jokes.

Christopher doesn’t hide his passion.

Photo by Dave Barfield

“There is value in teaching skills that resist a throwaway culture,” he says. “I think it is fascinating to discover why things were made the way they were, whether it was due to available materials, costs, or just survival. We honor that by restoring, recreating, and teaching. Each project that we take on demands problem-solving and rewards persistence.”

Beyond teaching, the Sandlins build and give away a blacksmith’s tool chest every year at events hosted by the Florida Artist Blacksmith Association, stocked with supplies to help beginners get started, value the heritage, and keep the craft alive.

Alumni of Traditions classes can return for reserved shop time for a minimal fee, providing them with tools, vintage and modern, and space they might not have at home.

Both a workshop and a community, Traditions is a place where the past isn’t just remembered, but practiced, hammered, and forged anew.