Francis Leidinger has been smithing for over 20 years.  starting with a knife making class in 1994, he branched out into decorative functional work.  His training is a mix of informal apprenticeship, self-teaching, and  formal classes with a variety of master smiths over the years.

He owns and operates "Straight Line Forge" just outside of Davis Ca., where he has lived for nearly 30 years.  He is also a graduate of UC Davis with a BA in french language and literature.