I recently signed up for a three day knife forging workshop at Two Smiths in Kitchener.
Two Smiths is a blacksmith and coppersmith shop started by Sandra Dunn who has over 30 years experience in the trade. She offers a wide range of blacksmithing and copper smithing workshops that run for 1,2, or 3 days. I signed up for her 3-day chef’s knife workshop, that promised to teach how to use a forge, hammer hot steel into a proper chef’s knife blade, temper the finished blade so that it would retain a sharp edge, polish it and finally, shape and attach a hardwood handle.
I’ve been making and repairing knives for going on ten years now, but I always try to keep an open mind about learning new things. So in that spirit, I signed up for the 3-day chef’s knife workshop, hoping to pickup some new techniques, and maybe some tips and tricks of the trade to add to my repertoire of knife making skills.
I wasn’t disappointed. The workshop was a very intensive and full 3-days in which we went through the entire process from beginning to end, and completed the course with a finished knife we could take home.
I found the course extremely well designed and run. When I took the workshop earlier this month, there were 5 students and 2 instructors. Three students were completely new to knife making with no prior experience, and there were two of us – myself included – with several years experience under our belts. While the course is designed and setup for beginners, I learned some new things as well from the knowledgeable instructors.
It was also just a lot of good plain fun to spend three days hammering hot steel with a group who shared a similar passion and interest for the craft. For me, the social experience was as valuable as the learning experience.
You’re never too old to learn something new, as they say, so if you’re interested in taking a course in blacksmithing and learning something about the trade, I highly recommend Sandra Dunn and TwoSmiths Forge. You won’t be disappointed.
Thanks for visiting. Now go find some friends, call it a party and make it a great day.
You can contact me using my cleverly named ‘Contact me’ page.
