My Knife Forging Experience
I was really excited for this experience. I work behind my laptop most days, but I really enjoy working with my hands and building something from nothing. Needless to say, I was ready to get my hands dirty. Some days I feel too much like a city girl, so this was my chance to toughen up, and forge a blade.
Part of me was nervous and skeptical — what if I burned myself, chopped a finger off, fell in the fire, who knows — but, as soon as I met Josh and he started talking about blacksmithing, he put me at ease. He was so friendly, genuine, and excited for us to forge that you couldn’t help but feed off his enthusiasm.
I’ve played many sports growing up and dealt with terrible coaches, mediocre coaches, great coaches — and let me tell you, Josh definitely falls into the great category. I went on this experience with another couple, yet Josh was able to work with us individually, teach us, and push us.
He was always nearby if we needed him but, he let us do the work ourselves — even if that meant accidentally burning off a piece of the blade in the forge, and ending up with a shorter knife than everyone else, which may have happened to me…
Going into it, I knew it would be long and tiring but I had no idea how much I would enjoy the manual labour. You’d think swinging a hammer at a piece of steel for hours would get boring but, I enjoyed every minute of it. And once the forging part was done, there was still a lot to do; cutting the handle, smouldering the blade into the handle, assembling it, grinding down the blade, and all of the finishing touches. Almost 8 hours later, we were finally done. And by then, I was sooo done. Covered in soot, aching forearms, sore feet, I had a finished product.
I am so proud of my knife, I bring it everywhere… I bring it places just to show people and tell them about my experience, I leave it on the table so people will ask about it, I’ve even used it for dinner when we were short on knives: I’m obsessed.
My recommendations for anyone going on XPR’s knife making experience is to bring lots of water and snacks — you’ll need it to keep you going. Another tip is to take your time: it’s going to be a long day, don’t rush, but put your best effort into it so you leave with something you’re proud of. Lastly, take breaks to stretch, walk around, get some fresh air — a bit of time to stop and enjoy the experience.
I can’t say enough about this experience. The other girl who had joined me was a little skeptical at first, and she also came out so happy and impressed by the entire thing. And I have no doubt you will too!
