Knife Making & Bladesmith Courses Berkshire

What Can I Expect

Bladesmithing courses in Berkshire - creative, artistic and practical! These really popular one and two-day courses at the professional forge in Farley Hill village will see you making either a Viking or a Chef's knife.

All courses start with welcome and a safety briefing. You'll meet some of the professional blacksmithing team, which is headed up by John, and they are all highly experienced and creative metalworkers.

Students all start by making a fire poker, which gives you a feel for what working with heated metal is like. And yes, you get to take your first forged creation home with you!

Then it's on to the knifemaking. On the one-day bladesmithing course you'll be forging a Viking knife and on the two-day course you will be making a Chef's knife at this Berkshire forge. Both use high-quality metals such as ‘spring steel' (for a great edge to your blade) and ‘leaf springs', which has a superb texture.

The Viking knife is a substantial bladed knife, which is just the sort of fighting dagger a warrior would have carried over a 1000 years ago. The handle and blade are made from a single piece of metal and you can get quite creative with the handle shaping!

The longer Chef's knife course involves making the blade and then fashioning a handle to go with it. There will be a choice of exotic hardwoods for you to use to give your practical and very usable kitchen knife a very stylish finish.

All the tools, raw materials and safety gear is included for both knifemaking experiences. Buy a voucher for a bladesmithing course in Berkshire and get ready to get hands-on in the forge to create your bespoke knife! 

What's Included

• One or two day knife making course
• Courses start with a welcome and safety briefing
• Everyone makes a fire poker as the first project as an introduction to hammering skills and how the material reacts when heated
• All courses include materials and safety equipment (Safety specs, gloves, aprons etc)
• Break for lunch (not included) please bring a packed lunch
• Tea and coffee are provided throughout the day
• Class sizes are generally 4-6 with a ratio of 2-3 participants per tutor

Viking Knife Making

• Spend the day forging a viking knife
• Create your own Viking one piece knife learning the aspects of knife-making and blacksmithing

Chef's Knife Making

• Two-day course creating your own chef's style knife (hunting knives can also be made on this course)
• The material used is from spring steel which has a greater carbon content
• The properties make it more suitable to being hardened to ensure it keeps a much better edge to the blade

When Is It Available

• Classes generally run Thursdays and Fridays, alternative days can be arranged for small groups
• Sessions start at 09:30 finishing between 16:00 and 16:30
• Dates are subject to availability
• Two day chef's knife course generally run on consecutive days (alternative dates may be arranged)

Suitable For

• Minimum age 18
• A good, general level of fitness is required

Spectators

• Not suitable for spectators

Anything Else

• Sturdy shoes/boots and old clothes should be worn
• No fleeces or sandals