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Brand new courses are online! Bookings available from Sunday 29th June
Have you ever wanted to make your own chef's knife? Thinking of getting into bladesmithing and want to see what it would be like? Or are you an experience seeker who fancies smashing some hot metal around? We can help!
What to expect - The course kicks off at 9am both mornings, with the fee including lunch (let me know if you have any dietary requirements), materials to complete your knife from start to finish, and two full days teaching at the forge.
The forge is fully equip with power hammers (yes, plural!), four belt sanders, multiple pieces of heat treating equipment, a MIG welding station, metal cutting and wood working tools, not to mention at least one hand hammer and anvil at any given time! the workshop has all the necessary (and sometimes frivolous) kit required to make sure you have a memorable experience crafting your quality, refined chefs knife.
You can also bring your own wood/materials if you would like to include something special for your handle, but no random bits of metal please! If you don't know what it is, and I don't know what it is, chances are it wont make for a good chefs knife!
It's more than making a knife - using a combination of modern and traditional blacksmithing skills, jack will take you through the entire process across two days. You will be taught the practical skills required, but also experience the artistry and satisfaction of making your own handcrafted knife.
the starting billet for this course is pre-laminated. this means that the course does not involve any fire welding, which is great for you guys, as trying to get stainless steel to stick can be an absolute f***ing nightmare (to put it mildly).
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this does mean though that we're a little more limited in the sort of knife shape we can make, due to the starting dimensions of our stainless billet. You can choose from a Nakiri, a 6-8 inch chefs knife, a K-tip chefs of similar size or a petty. For the vast majority of people, all of these options will still be daily drivers in the kitchen, i.e. versatile knives that you can use day in and day out for a wide range of tasks. unless of course you're a classic type chef, and neeeeeed the biggest knife in the kitchen, in which case check out some of our other courses where you have a little more creative freedom!
The trade off for having a little less freedom in terms of design is that stainless requires far less maintenance when compared to "pure" carbon steel knives.
As such, this course would make an excellent entry point for anyone looking to delve into the world of hand forged blades. Even more so if you're not sure you want the added hassle of maintaining some of the higher carbon cousins to stainless blades!
Day 1 of the course involves forging, grinding and heat treating your chosen knife shape. There will be a decent mix of power hammer and hand hammer work, so bringing a bit of hand eye coordination with you goes a long way. Fear not though, we've got plenty tucked away in a draw somewhere if you dont have any!
Day 2 involves grinding and polishing the bevels of your blade, etching the knife, popping the handle on, and finally sharpening the bad boy up! This course is very much still in its infancy, so more detailed specifics will be added as we refine our process.
for general FAQs on what to bring, where to stay, and forge location etc. please click Here
