Knife Making Experience Day – Forge a Viking Style Knife!

Forge a Viking Style Knife – Knife Making Experience Day (Slad, Stroud, Cotswolds)

(Note: Experience day vouchers can also be purchased at the Stroud Farmer’s Market Stall most Saturdays – these are redeemable for any experience day. Just turn up to buy one, or email me or text/whatsapp on 07951 761 421)

Ever wanted to forge your own knife? Forge your very own Viking style knife at my forge in Slad, Stroud!

Viking Style Knife-Making Course

We’ll start the day with a hot drink and a relaxed chat about health & safety. Then, it’s off to the forge to get cracking forging your Viking style knife!

We’ll use a combination of hand hammers and a forging press, knives will be made out of a medium or high carbon steel, then properly heat treated & tempered. The goal is for you to leave with your own custom-forged Viking style knife, with a real, sharp, live edge!

Our small group size (maximum 6 participants) ensures you get plenty of one-on-one guidance from me. We’ll wrap up by 4:30 PM, but if you need a bit more time to complete your knife, we’ll happily stay a little longer (within reason!)

Come get hands-on with this ancient craft, enjoy the day, and walk away with a hand forged knife, handmade by YOU.

What You’ll Make On The Knife-Making Workshop

• A Viking-style knife forged from medium or high-carbon steel
• Properly heat-treated, hardened, tempered and sharpened
• A blade with a real, usable, sharp edge
• A one-of-a-kind piece, forged by YOU!

The type of knife we’ll be making is also known as a Blacksmith’s knife, and is a one-piece knife, meaning it’s forged from one billet of steel, with a forged metal handle.

What You’ll Learn In The Knife-Making Class

• Correct hammer technique, blade shaping and tapering
• How to forge bevels and establish a clean, functional blade profile
• Using both hand tools and a forging press
• Normalising cycles to strengthen and stabilise steel
• Hardening, quenching and tempering
• Sharpening on a combination of a belt sander and specialist knife sharpening jigs

What Does a Viking Knife Making Day Look Like?

Every day will vary slightly, but below is the layout of a typical day making a viking style knife:

Morning Session

• Meet & greet with hot drink
• Relaxed safety briefing
• Forge introduction and tool overview
• Beginning the forging process – heating, striking, shaping the blade
• Forging bevels, taper, and point

Afternoon Session

• Normalising and hardening your blade for strength
• Tempering for toughness
• Refining the profile, filing and removing scale
• Sanding and polishing
• Sharpening your knife to a live cutting edge
• Photos, finishing touches, and optional overrun for completion

IMPORTANT BITS IN SUMMARY

• We start at 10:30am
• Please bring a packed lunch
• Wear natural fibres if possible (polyester can melt! Cotton is good, wool likely too warm in summer!)
• The forge can be COLD in winter, so wear multiple layers, this way you can wear more or fewer layers during the day as needed.
• Leather aprons, goggles and gloves will be provided
• We aim to have fun forging things all day until around 4:30pm, but I can stay until 6pm if needed to help you finish

Who This Experience Is For

• Total beginners – no experience required
• People wanting a proper hands-on blacksmithing experience
• Bushcraft and outdoor skills enthusiasts
• Gift seekers (birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries)
• Anyone who wants to learn real Viking-style knife forging

Why Choose Soulful Iron

• Real forging in a real blacksmith’s workshop – not a tourist-style simulation
• Small group size of 6 maximum, for a  great instructor to student ratio
• A calm, relaxed and fun setting in the heart of the Cotswolds
• You go home with a genuinely functional knife you forged yourself

Age & Safety Requirements

• Minimum age 11
• Ages 11 to 18 needs a guardian present
• Under 18’s can make a knife, but it will be handed to the guardian to take home.
• Participants must be comfortable standing and using a hammer
• All PPE supplied
• No prior forging experience needed