By AMBER L.
TOMLINSON
atomlinson@rensselaerrepublican.com
Jail bar converted into ‘sharp’ looking keepsake
As the old Jasper County Jail sits empty waiting for decisions to be made about its future use, Jim Shull was thinking of a way to preserve history.
Shull, who lives just north of Fisher’s Grocery on U.S. Highway 231, asked the Jasper County Commissioners at a regular meeting on Monday if he could take something from the old jail and make it into a historical keepsake.
“I talked with Orville Perry awhile back about getting small pieces of bars from the old jail before it is completely demolished. I would like to take a small piece about four or five feet and experiment with it making a presentation Bowie,” Shull said.
Shull is a Bladesmith and has been forging metal into knives for about 18 years. He said he has lived in the county for 47 years and seen many buildings and important things forgotten through the years.
“I would like to preserve some of the heritage,” said Shull, who creates knives as a hobby. “I would like give it to them to put in the new jail.”
The old jail facility is located in downtown Rensselaer, south of the Jasper County Courthouse. It was vacated in October of 2008 when the new facility was completed on U.S. Highway 231, on the north side of Rensselaer.
The knife, according to Shull, would be put on a plaque so it can be hung in the new facility.
“I take round bars of steel and forge them into hunting knives and fishing knives. I don’t do too much decorative stuff but sometimes I fancy it with a temper line or sheath,” he said. “It can take eight to 10 hours over a week or two to complete.”
Creating a knife takes several stages including heating it, hammering it out, creating the blade and grinding it.
Shull, who works out of his garage, said after he gets the bar from the jail it may take a month or so to complete.
“I’m not sure what kind of steel it is so it will take some experimenting with the heat,” he said.
Jasper County Sheriff Orville Perry said there are several bars Shull could use and the commissioners approved for Shull to have a bar as long as he wasn’t demolishing anything. The future of the old jail is being discussed by the commissioners. One discussion has been to sell some of the old parts of the moving doors to other jails.
Perry said there has been an interest in those parts. There has been talk about demolishing the building and using it as a parking lot.