Bob Pheil

Bob Pheil is a retired Texas Public School Superintendent.  He served as a school administrator for twenty six of his thirty one years in the profession.  His past time and hobby is outdoor cooking, measuring tons, not pounds, of brisket cooked each year.  This is how he found the craft of blacksmithing.  Looking for the perfect barbecue fork was a search that went on for three years.  Finally after meeting a blacksmith from Santa Fe, New Mexico, Bob had his perfect fork.  After inquiring as to where this smith learned his skills, Bob ended up at the shop of Robb Gunter in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  After learning the basics Bob Pheil was told all it takes is ten hours a day, six days a week and in fifteen years he would be as good as his teacher.

This has become a passion that will last for years.  The idea of creating something from a material that is perceived as being so rigid is fascinating for Bob.