Weekend Course

Whether you are into hunting, camping and bushcraft or are a keen cook, chef or home entertainer then this is the course for you. Create two field or food ready functional knives that will see you through the job at hand. We use quality high carbon steel and the hidden tang method. Courses run over the period of an introduction evening then two full days. Here’s a guide of what is involved.

First evening we meet to talk knives and have a look at the workshop. We’ll go over what is involved and then using templates as a guide we’ll work out what two knives you’ll be creating over the period of the course. There are some limitations to the size depending on the finish but we can cover that on the night. We generally meet for around 1.5 hours.

Day One. Have a good night sleep before and a nice breakfast to fill you with energy as we cover a lot on this day. I will forge a small knife to demonstrate the techniques involved in conjunction with your forging so you’ll get a step by step guide. I’ll be right with you if there the need to assist. Ultimately I want you to have the best experience possible without the worry.

Once we’ve forged the knives we then take to the grinders and shape our knives according to the designs chosen. We then grind in the bevels and at this stage we’ll have something looking a lot like a knife. Towards the end of the day we add some finishing touches to the overall shape and then select handle material from the range of premium timbers I have on offer. If you’d like to bring something yourself let me know beforehand so I can assess if it will be suitable. Time permitting we then prepare the timbers and any other materials so that we have a little head start for the second day. Before we finish the day we heat treat (harden) the blades by heating in the forge and quenching in oil (there’s a little bit of science behind this and I’ll explain it on the day). The knives then go into a temper oven for the night and we get to relax and generally have an early night!

Day Two. In the morning I clean the blades up from the day before and when you arrive they are ready to be hand sanded to a lovely satin finish. We then work on guards and complete the process of making sure the handle materials fit snug. Before lunch we glue the knives up and clamp them for around one hour. Following a delicious lunch we shape the handles and then give them a final sand before buffing with a high polish compound. At this stage it’s time to get excited as we’re nearing the finish line. We then remove  protective tape from the blades and give them an oil. All the hard work you have put yourself through over the days pays off here. Your knives will surely bring a smile to your face. At the end of the day I will sharpen your knives and we can talk about care and storage before you head off to put them in your kitchen, bug out bag or camping kit

I supply all of the equipment required for the course. If you are an experienced maker and have gear or tools you’d prefer to work with then bring them along. I will also provide snacks and refreshments during the day and a light lunch, usually bbq and salad or a burger etc. If you want soft drinks etc please bring your own supply of these.