Knife to Meet You: An Introduction to Bladesmithing

In this class we will forge, file, heat treat, and sharpen a small blacksmith’s knife using only a piece of high-carbon steel, hand tools, and first principles.

Students will leave the class having made an all-steel one piece “blacksmith’s knife” suitable for cooking, cutting, and everyday use.

Techniques covered will include: straightening, tapering, drawing out and beveling high carbon steel, filing a knife to it’s final shape, quenching, tempering, and finally, sharpening.

• Students will learn all of the basics of bladesmithing
• . Forging of a basic knife
• . Filing the knife to shape
• . Simple Heat Treatment (Quenching and Tempering of Steel)
• . Knife Sharpening
• . The End Result will be a simple and functional blacksmith's knife.
• . This course does not include tool testing.

• 24" of 1/2" round mild steel bar
• 8" of 1/2" diameter steel coil spring (high carbon steel)
• Access to A2's Metalsmithing shop and tools for the duration of the session.

Their beautiful selves, their sharp and inquisitive minds, closed-toed shoes, natural fiber clothing, and most importantly a water bottle.

Willow is a blacksmith, bladesmith, Forged In Fire Champion and mom from Lunenburg, MA. She has taught at multiple craft schools around the US, and worked with blacksmiths as far away as Myanmar. If you take her classes, you must have a high tolerance for corny puns, and strange tangents and stories that are actually extremely relevant to the topic at hand.