Open to New Experiences: Forging an Iron Bottle Opener

In this introductory class, students will forge a simple bottle opener from steel bar, and learn the joy of shaping glowing metal with a hammer. Students will be introduced to the blacksmith’s tools, and forge, taper, scroll, bend and twist a rod of steel into a beautiful and useful bottle opener.

• . Familiarity with the basic blacksmithing tools (hammers, anvil, vise, forge, hot cut, twisting wrench)
• . Tapering, dressing, scrolling and bending 3/8" square steel bar into a hook, before hot-cutting it to size, and forging the other end into a bottle opener loop.
• Students will finish by putting a decorative twist into their bottle openers.

• 24" of 3/8" square mild steel bar
• Access to A2's Metalshop and tools for the duration of the session.

Students should bring their beautiful selves, their sharp and inquisitive minds, and closed toed shoes and natural fiber clothing. And plenty of water, it will be very hot work.

Ish? Kinda? See the answer for Get Hooked.

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.