Bladesmithing 101: Rail Road Spike Knife

Bladesmithing 101 (6 Hours)
This course is a great introduction to knife making. You’ll learn to forge a railroad spike knife that’s good for camping, utility, and ornamental purposes. Participants will isolate material, bevel and profile blades, and form creative integral handles. This experience will be an instructional journey through tools and equipment, material selection, body mechanics, design considerations, forging techniques, basic heat-treating principles, and finishing methods. Experience a very active class with an emphasis on hands-on learning with hammer, heat, and iron. While these 1-day intensive classes serve as introductions to bladesmithing, each participant will leave the course with a finished knife with an integral handle. These are foundational courses that will be built upon during future exploration and coursework including adding knife handles, advanced finishing and heat treating, and forging Damascus blades.

No prerequisites or experience necessary. Ages: 16+