Knife Making
with the
Ancient Forges
Group courses (between 3 and 6 people) are run out in the open using archaeologically reproduced forges. The whole process of making a knife is done using hand tools but there is no reason why you can’t turn out very good knives with this set up, despite the lack of mod-cons. From 2009 the structure you see above has housed an example of the forge used by itinerant smith from the Iron Age (which is what I also use when doing public demos) and a more modern Roman/Saxon forge. Prior to 2009 these courses utilised a pair of the Iron Age forges without the luxury of a fixed roof! Have a look at the Workshop Tour page for a better look around.   N.B  During 2012 I will be building a third forge in the school, this will be similar in construction to the Roman/Saxon forge but with updated bellows; bringing that end of the set up to the 14th century!

These forges require a little more effort on the part of the operators because when not actually forging you are likely to be pumping the bellows for your comrades. Time constraints are a little tighter due to the heat treating, but I still let YOU decide what you make, the only criteria we stick to are that we don’t make anything over about 5” blade length and that the blade is a stick tang. 

We start with a piece of 1/2" round EN45 spring steel, a bit of native hardwood and if a 3 day course then a bit of 4.5mm veg tanned leather. By the end of the weekend we all have a finished and fully functioning knife!

I demonstrate the first step as the group watch carefully. At each step of the process they will stop and watch me before copying what I do. Here is the Iron Age forge. an anvil is either side and the students begin the knifemaking process...And here is the more modern Roman/Saxon forge set up. No better than the Iron Age version in many ways, but easier to use if you have back or leg troublesGet it hot and HIT IT!Decide how long your blade will be. Apparently that is 6" !!A well oiled team getting into the rythm of the forge Seems counter-intuative, but the bend really will come good in the endFinal shapings and straighteningBefore heat treating, the edges are filed true and some other cosmetic tidying to the blade can be done. remember though, files only cut on the PUSH stroke!Once the blades are forged they need to be heat treated. After relieving stress, the next step is to harden the blades in tallowthe blades are then cleaned up prior to temperingThe blades are tempered over the coals to achieve the desired balance of toughness and edge retention. Three finished blades ready for handles....A block of wood is selected and a pilot hole drilled to receive the tang...Using a bar of hot steel we burn fit the tangs before gluiing everything together.once the blades are in place, the knives-to-be are set aside for the glue to set. Time for lunch!Handles are shaped using a variety of tools, primarily drawknives and rasps.after shaping, a bit of sanding is in order. How long this takes will depend on how fastideous you are about scratches! When the handle is finished, a good coat of oil is applied to bring out the colour of the wood and to nourish it.On a three-day course we also make sheathes. These are made by wet forming vegetable tanned leather. Take a look at my sheath making course gallery for more pics...My one concession to power tools on this course is the use of a foot-powered grinder for the first stage of sharpening. But it is not allowed out before this stage!Finally the knives are sharpened and they are truely finished!
This lucky group were the first to use the Iron Age forge set up. That time it was in a field! They booked the course as a Stag Party for the big fella in the back row.The knives that they produced next to the raw materials.No group shot of these guys, but they are all in this picture.The knives made buy the men in the smokeA rare occasion where I took the teaching forge on the road. Never again, but these three enjoyed the weekend!And their work... This young man wanted to use the Iron Age forge for his one-to-one course. Normally I wouldn't do this as it means I have to bellow for the student, but at the time I had no workshop!Another private group booking showing off their fabulous knives. It was a great weekend in the woods!And their knives up closeFather, daughter and son-in-law came for a private group course in the woods and made a fine selection of knives.The knives. Boris (the lady on the left) folled my advice and made a small but useful knife; the others went for two of the most difficult knives to forge outside: long blades and hooked blades! Well done though!On a three day weekend in 2008 this group made a fine range of useful knives. Though we did need to retreat indoors for some of the work thanks to the weatherThe knives and their sheathesThe last group knifemaking course of 2008 saw this merry group in the woods.Our knives, minus one which was in the middle of being sharpened at the time.James arranged for himself and two friends to have a weekend awayand the knives. mine to the left.A great group from July 2009. sadly I didn't get a close up of the knives :-(Last group for 2009. And our knives. One had already been buried in a rucksack, so is missing from the shot. Mine is at the topMarch 2010, first group of the year. Great bunch and they did very well!and our knives. mine top leftA small group for the mid summer course.Our knives. The handles are a bit dirty from the sharpening, but will clen up ok. mine at bottomAnother group of lads came down as a private party. a great weekend was had and by golly can these northerners drink tea!our knives, mine at bottomLast group of 2010 and a very capable group to finish the year onour knives, mine at centre bottom
Click on the images below for a better idea of what you could do. I've arranged them to show the whole process from forging through to making a sheath for a finished knife.  The second gallery is the rogues gallery, showing you a selection of former students and their finely crafted knives!
Here are some of the knives produced in the Iron Age forges. Most of the knife pictures includes the knife that I made alongside the group.
booking and course enquiry
Examlpes of students' work

Knife Making
In the
Workshop
Examlpes of students' work
booking and course enquiry
When people book onto a one-to-one or one-to-two bladesmithing course, we use my Main Workshop rather than the Iron Age forges. By coming on a one-to-one course you are of course guaranteed my undivided attention and by running the course in the workshop, we have access to powertools. Granted you don’t actually need powertools to make a great knife, but it’s a great deal easier! Also the kit that I have in the workshop means that we can make a much wider variety of blade shapes and sizes or handle configuration (for example big blades are tricky to get right at the best of times, I certainly wouldn’t let anybody try it with the Iron Age set up).

My present workshop has only been up since the 'summer' of 2008 and is still being finished off. So as time goes by, the more toys I have to play with. I have a selection of grinders, saws, forges (coke and gas), fly press and soon a power hammer, as well as a wide range of hand tools that all add to the range of tools that you could learn to use in the knifemaking process. All of the heat treating is done using a pair of purpose built heat treating furnaces that allow me to control the temperature of the steel to within a couple of degrees.

You can also book a longer course if you would like to completely finish a particularly complex knife, such as one including decorative file work, hamons, inlays, pattern welded blades, fancy sheathes and the like. If you prefer, you can break the course up, this is often very useful for people who only have one spare day per week. It also means that we can use better quality resins that take 24 hours to cure.



Prices:

All materials and refreshment (not lunch) are included in the price of the course. The price of the course will to an extent depend on what you would like to achieve, but as a rule of thumb for knife (or similar tool) making courses:

One person in the workshop: £150 per day
Two people sharing the workshop: £110 per day, each

Click on the images below for a better idea of what you could do. I've arranged them to show the whole process from forging through to making a sheath for a finished knife.  The second gallery is the rogues gallery, showing you a selection of former students and their finely crafted knives!
Get it HOT! Then hit it.A couple's weekend away, getting hot and sweaty together in the woods.Now HIT IT!I said HIT IT!Ok, have a tea break if you must! (actually there is liquid refreshment and biscuits flowing throughout the day)now that the bar of tool steel is flat, it's time to pre-bend it ready for the bevels to be forged in.The flat bar is now forged into something resembling a knife with a V-shaped cross section.Gradually coaxing a lump of steel into a bladeOnce forged out it needs to straightenedcheck straightness from every angleA bit of pre-heat treating grinding to remove any unsightly bulges. Pins holes are drilled at the same timeUsing my temporary gas forge (soon to be replaced), we raise the knife to the correct temperature for hardening. After heat treating the handle pieces are fitted and shaped using a mixture of hand and power tools.The sheath is an important part of any handmade knife. Here the pattern is cut from a thick piece of cowhidethe leather is dyed and glued together...Sewiing the sheath needn't be hard work, but sometimes it feels like it!Sewing a sheath takes time, so it's wise to sit down and enjoy the sunshine. Don't forget a cup of tea!Finally the students put an edge onto their new knives.
Sean came found me at UK knife show and a few months later was working hard at my forge. He was an able student who worked so fast he even had time for an afternoon nap! (though he blamed his age, he's a spritely 73)the small utility knives that we made both had oak handles and copper guards.Dave and Michal made a couple of fine knives in a long weekend. Saxen didn't seem so impressed!Dave and Michael's knives. Mine at bottom.Chris with his day's work: two bladesChris' blades. Both EN45 steel, one a mighty chopper the other a small whittler. My blades are the two at the top of the picture.Marie Clare came for a couple of days to my new workshop and turned out this fine knife...As I had a lady in the workshop, i thought I would try something a little ladylike with my handle. So I used my own Floral Micarta :-)Doug was a very able student indeed. One of only two in 4 years to manage a knife and sheath completely in only two days!And here are our knives. Mine is the one on the left. Our handles are Oak and YewJeff and dan, father and son, came for a single day to forge a blade to take home and finish.OUr blades. Son went for a small general purpose blade and dad went for a rather large (11" !) butchers knife.This young man came along for a course and went away with two small knives.our knives from top to bottom: antler tyne, London Plane and lebanon cedar (later replaced with red/black micarta)John-Jack came for couple of days and produced a very nice little knifeJohn's knife with a stylish blue sheath and blackmpalm handleNick wanted a small bushcraft knife and that's exactly what we made. The knife I made alongside was the inspiration for my Woodsprite knifeDave was my first ever student and lulled me into a false sence of how easy knifemaking can be. He was the other student who managed to finish a knife and sheath in only two days!Dave's knife. Very well made with an exotic Muhuhu handleNigel came ofr a day and managed to get this lovely made. My former Austrailian housemate, Joe, made his knife over bit by bit during his last weeks in the countryJoe's knife. the handle is Bubinga wood. Martin came to learn how to make a blade by stock removal rather than forging. It took me back as I've not made a knife this way for years!Martin's blade at bottom and mine top, both 5mm O1 steelAs for most of those who come to make a knife, Geoff came to make a good general purpose knife.Our knives (Geoff's at top) have oak handles, brass and red epoxy pins and a little bit of decorative filework alng the spines.
Here are some of the knives produced in the workshop. I've included some students from each of the three workshops that I've had since starting up.
a tour of my main workshop
Knife Making

Knife making courses can be run either in either my main workshop on a one-to-one basis (or a pair of you), or as part of a small group using my Ancient Forge School. Take a look at the information below to see which type of course would suit you best!


Whether you choose to join a group using the more ancient methods, or on your own in the fully kitted out workshop, the timescale for making a knife is broadly the same. Below you will see what a weekend course could hold....
Knifemaking courses in the Main Workshop
Knifemaking courses with the Ancient Forges
How long are the courses?

Well, that depends on what you want to make, what level of finish you desire and how easily you pick things up. As a guide, based on previous students' work, this is the minimum that you should be able to accomplish:


Day 1 (or a one day course)

If you intend to make a forged finished blade, then you will be able to forge the blade, heat treat and sharpen it. The heat treating with my modern set up takes several hours to accomplish due to the time that the furnace takes to come up to temperature for each step of the process. The heat treating methods used during a group course are more traditional and much faster (if not so precise), but the blade making process takes that little bit longer. Either way, this is a LONG day and often runs over the 5pm mark.


Day 2

Select a handle material, prepare and glue it onto the blade. We normally use modern epoxies, but traditional glues are available upon request

Shape handle to fit your hand and design, then finish it to a fine satin finish with hand abrasives and oil the wood to protect it.

(If your blade has also been ground, then today you will spend a while polishing it to the level that you desire, and possibly etching to reveal any hamon present. You will then be able to fit the handle and begin shaping.)



Day 3

Unless you have a particularly complex design, this is a sheath making day.

Make a template of your sheath and cut out the leather.

Dye the leather, wet form it around your knife and once the sheath is dry it can be glued and stitched together.


However many days you stay for, the last act will be to sharpen the blade. Unless I really have to, I never fit a handle or make a sheath for a sharp blade. I did this once when I started making knives and I still have the scar to remind me why I don't do it anymore!