6 Newbe's, 1 Geezer

[G L Drew]

This might be a little off topic but I wanted to brag about the facility we have available to us here in western North Carolina.

This teaching forge was a project taken on by a local young man as a project for his eagle scout badge. He pulled together some very talented smiths, raised a bunch of money and helped direct the the building of this forge at the Tryon Arts and Crafts facility in Tryon, NC. The community has had access, through TAC, to the forge for the past few years. Some of the local smiths have been teaching basic and advanced blacksmithing at least once per month.

This group got together this week-end to take part in my basic bladesmithing class. Only one of the group had any blacksmithing experience but everyone went home with at least one usable hand made knife. This class gave them the experience of forging, heat treating and finishing a tool steel knife. Some of the knives were a little crude as you would expect but there were some nice looking knives developed here too.

 

[R. Mark Lee]

Great story and nice looking facilities and equipment. looks like a plus to any community.

 

[JC in SC]

Thanks for posting some pictures from this past weekends class Gerry. It might be what pushes me over the edge in order to sign up for the April class.

 

[coolhandluke4]

Hey, I'm about an hour and a half away from you guys, where do I find info about your classes? I'd like to try some forging

 

[JC in SC]

Hey, I'm about an hour and a half away from you guys, where do I find info about your classes? I'd like to try some forging

Look here for a tentative schedule. No information is posted for the upcoming class in April yet, but details for the class this past weekend are available. I assume the April class will be comparable, but Gerry will know for sure.