Making nails has been one the oldest forms of Blacksmithing for centuries. It is usually the first task of any apprentice to learn the basics skills necessary toward becoming a blacksmith.
This course does not require a lot of strength nor skill-set prior to the class. For these reasons it is the perfect starting lesson for those wanting to try their hand at some old fashioned Blacksmithing. This course will teach students the proper terms, techniques, and protocols required to successfully create usable nails. For anyone looking to get a basic understanding of Blacksmithing, this is the course for you.
About the Instructor: This class is taught by Kenneth of Fire & Brimstone Forge.
Age: there are no age restrictions to the class, however minors must be accompanied by an adult.
What to wear: At RMM, you must dress safely and appropriately. Arrive for class in all-natural fiber clothing (100% cotton), long pants, and closed-toe, closed-heel shoes with socks that protect up to the ankle. Long hair must be tied back. Nylon, polyester, spandex, or other synthetics are not allowed around machines, equipment, or processes that can produce hot fragments, sparks, or flames. Additional protective gear will be provided as needed.
Please review our Refund and Cancellation Policy.
A blacksmiths skill is not just rated on how fast or well-defined they can make pieces repetitively but how closely they can mimic each piece! Precision is key and the ability to recreate pieces over and over that visually match one another demonstrates the talent of a smith. From small pieces to large it is important to have continuity between pieces. In this class students will create S hooks with the goal to make each one they produce mimic the last with as little difference between them as possible.
Prerequisites: We recommend you complete a beginner blacksmithing class such as Forging Nails prior to taking this class, or having previous experience.
Age: there are no age restrictions to the class. minors must be accompanied by an adult.
Learn how to forge a knife out of a railroad spike!
This is the perfect class to learn one of the basics of knives-making: balancing durability and hardness of the metal to make the perfect blade.
Students will utilize a high carbon railroad spike and learn methods that induce carbon into the metal while also learning how to temper in a process called normalization. The metal will then posses both features of a durable and hard metal that is ideal for knives.
As far as knives are concerned, the harder the steel, the better the edge, however, the harder edge makes for a brittle knife. A balance is needed between the soft flexible metal and the hard brittle metal to achieve a knife that will hold an edge without breaking. In this class more techniques for blade smithing will be covered, including various heat treatments, tapering, and tempering methods used to maximize strength with durability.
Age: there are no age restrictions to the class. Minors must be accompanied by an adult.
In this class students will forge high carbon steel hammer heads into an axe head. Students will be tasked with using the shop press, fitting a wooden handle, and honing an edge. Planning and preparation are key factors utilized in creating a functional piece. With that said, the head of the axe will have to fit a standard axe handle. After completing the forging, students will then proceed to refine and sharpen their axe by grinding, filing, and sanding as needed
Task involved - (shaping, assembly, measuring, marking, utilizing the press, hammering, fitting, gluing, and temp control)
In this class students will forge a small knife out of a piece of solid stock metal. This lesson will cover material foresight, design vs functionality, and will briefly hit upon types of metal and tempering techniques. The task used to create this knife will involve drawing- stretching out metal in a linear direction, forging out a bevel using hammer control, cutting, and sharpening. This class will involve the challenge of utilizing tongs and will introduce the methods necessary to handle the metal quickly and efficiently. Though this is an intermediate class, no previous knowledge is necessary to take this class. Work level is light to moderate.
In this class students will learn how to take one metal object and transform it into another in a case of extreme transformation. Students will take old hammers consisting of tool steel and transform the striking surface into an axe. Students will also be introduced to drifting dies designed to widen the eye for proper fitting to an axe handle. From here students will learn how to shape and refine the blade using the grinder and finally finishing it off with a fair amount of sanding before polishing. The final task is the heat treatment to temper the blade to withstand heavy blows. This will involve normalization, oil quenching, and heat tempering.
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