Knife Making Courses in Stroud, Cotswolds

Knife Making & Blacksmithing Experience Days in the Cotswolds

Looking for an unforgettable blacksmithing or knife making experience in the Cotswolds? My knife forging workshops offer hands-on learning in both blacksmithing and knife making at my working forge in Slad, just outside Stroud in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire. Ideal for complete beginners, my blacksmithing or knife making classes provide expert guidance in a small group setting (maximum 6 people on blacksmithing days and 4 on knife making days). On the Blacksmithing experience, you’ll forge your own stylish hook, complete with twists, and a fire poker. On the knife making experience, you’ll forge a knife from start to finish, learning centuries-old techniques. Unlike some knife making days, we’ll forge the knife out of high carbon steel, so your blade will be capable of keeping a proper edge. During your knife forging experience, you’ll master:

• Traditional forge work with hammer, anvil and tongs
• Shaping high carbon steel into a blade
• Beveling and profiling techniques
• Heat treatment and tempering for a razor-sharp edge
• Grinding and finishing your custom knife

Each knife making experience runs for a full day (10:30am until between 5pm and 6:30pm) and you’ll take home the knife you’ve forged with your own hands.

A knife making course at Soulful Iron is a full day in a real, working forge — not a classroom, not a kit. You’ll heat high carbon steel in the fire, hammer it into shape on the anvil, grind your bevels, heat treat and temper the blade, and walk away with a knife that’s sharp, functional, and made entirely by your own hands.

What You’ll Do on the Course

The course runs from 10:30am until between 5pm and 6:30pm and takes you through every stage of the process:

• Heat and shape your blade at the forge
• Profile and grind your bevels
• Heat treat and temper the steel for a lasting edge
• Finish and sharpen your knife

No experience needed. All materials, tools, and PPE are included — just show up.

A Knife Forging Experience Near Stroud

Every knife making course here is a proper knife forging experience. You won’t be cutting a blade out of a flat sheet. You’ll forge it: heating the steel in the fire and shaping it with a hammer on the anvil, the way knives have been made for centuries.

It’s hot, loud and messy, and in my experience it’s the part everyone remembers.

A Small Knife Making Workshop, Not a Big Class

I keep every knife making workshop small, so it feels more like a one-to-one class than a lecture. You get your own time at the fire and the anvil, and I’m right there for the tricky bits, like getting the bevels even and the heat treatment right.

That’s why it suits complete beginners. No experience needed, just a willingness to have a go.

A Real Blade, Not a Souvenir

Unlike many knife making workshops, every blade here is forged from solid high carbon steel. The edge you grind and temper is a real one — a knife that holds a proper edge and lasts a lifetime, not something that gets put in a drawer.

Where We Are

The forge is in Slad, just outside Stroud in the heart of the Cotswolds. Spaces are kept deliberately small, so you get hands-on instruction rather than a guided tour of someone else doing the work.

Looking for a Gift?

This is one of the most popular experience day gifts in the Cotswolds. Knife making course gift vouchers are available for instant delivery — valid for 12 months, with no date required at purchase.

Whether you’re treating yourself or someone else, this is a knife making course that stays with you long after the fire goes out.