For some farriers, modifying tools can lead to some anxious moments.

“The whole fear of changing a tool comes from, ‘Oh no, I’ll mess it up. I’ll go buy another one,’” says Robbie Hunziker of Hurricane Forge Tools. “I did that and a lot of us have.”

The Tampa, Fla., farrier has some rather simple advice — “Don’t be afraid to change it.”

“Find out what works for you and do it,” Hunziker says. “Get an old knife that you know is bad and just practice getting all the bumps out of it. If you want a bigger bevel in it, grind a bigger bevel in it and step it down with a belt or burn it with a torch and take the burs off.

“If you don’t like the tool anyway, mess with it. You might like it when you’re done modifying it.”

For more tips from Robbie Hunziker, read “Forget Disciplines When Trimming” in the September/October 2016 issue of American Farriers Journal.