I’d love to learn how to make a basic knife. Is there anyone with some experience who’d be willing to teach a class or give me some 1 on 1 pointers?
I’m kinda in the same boat, I want to play with some of the things I’ve seen in youtube videos.
(railroad spike/file/drill bit blades, pattern welded cable blades, clay heat treating, etc)
My buddy Bryan cornett in McKinney does it full time. I am sure he could give a class, when would y’all want it
It would make sense to do it on a Sunday after the blacksmith class is finished since everything will already be set up.
I am also interested.
I am interested as well.
I am interested as well. I have made several knives in the past from blanks shaped on a belt sander, but I would love to learn how to hammer out a profile, forge weld, make a fuller, differential heat treat, and any other nifty tricks that I haven’t thought of.
Jeremy,
It would make sense to do it on a Sunday after the blacksmith class is finished since everything will already be set up.
Sounds good - just check with John Haskins @jhaskins and Sarah @sarah first about teaching a class after blacksmithing and using the setup afterwards. We don’t typically finish until around 3 PM and the heat this time of year is a bit brutal. (bring bottled water) Also, I believe John and Sarah now take the propane with them due to the fire marshal / building regulation issues so you may need to bring your own fuel depending on what they say.
Also, it would be good to have someone who is familiar with the equipment / safety to be onsite. (which could be me if John is comfortable) Also, everyone taking the class needs to have signed the liability waiver, know the basic safety rules (dress appropriately to begin with) and setup / teardown for the forges. (which I can also teach) Forgive me if some of you have already taken a class and I don’t recognize you from your avatar.
I am interested myself as I enjoy working with tool steels.
JAG “End Boilerplate Speech” MAN
Blacksmith Committee Member
I took the basic class before I joined DMS several months ago. How you missed the 3 foot tall wrinkly green guy with big ears who talked funny, I have no idea. Perhaps gone that day, you were?
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Jeremy,
I sensed a disturbance in the Forge / Force where your remarks were foreseen.
Not unexpected, this is.
I took the basic class before I joined DMS several months ago.
Good, but if there are any other Padawans, they must also be trained.
How you missed the 3 foot tall wrinkly green guy with big ears who talked funny, I have no idea. Perhaps gone that day, you were?
Kiss my ass, you must.
JAG “Lightsaber Building Class at 2 PM - Bring Your Own Midi-Chlorians” MAN
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Hi,
For those who don’t know me, I’m Sarah, the “other” Blacksmith at the space
and teach the Sunday Blacksmithing classes with John Haskins and can
hopefully answer your questions. It’s very exciting to see such interest in
this type of class.
John and I are perfectly happy for you to use the equipment – that’s why
we have it at the space. (Joel, if you are willing to take the lead in
ensuring things get set up and turned off and put away properly for this
potential class, that would be awesome.) For those of you want to use the
equipment at other times, we do ask that you attend one of the
Blacksmithing classes and help us set up and tear down for class so you
know where things go, how to turn off the forges, etc. safely.
We would ask that each participant in the class pays $5 to the Blacksmith
Committee to cover the cost of fuel. Be prepared to provide your own stock
as instructed by the teacher. (You can give this to Joel, John Haskins, or
me.)
Planning the class to be held after Blacksmithing (since the equipment is
already out) is a good idea. It would be AWESOME if you would be willing to
help John and I set up, too! 
(Hint: We usually get there around 10:15 -
10:30 Sunday morning to set up for the 11:00 class) But if you are willing
to set up and tear down the equipment, we don’t care when you have class
except for our regularly scheduled class times.
Having forged several of my own knives, I can tell you that it’s not a
project for a beginner. You have to have excellent hammer control and be
comfortable using tongs to hold your work. (And I would appreciate not
having the edges chipped off the anvils, any more than they already are, by
misplaced hammer blows.) When you are heat treating and tempering, it’s
best to have experience in gauging the temperature of the metal by color.
If you have never held a Blacksmith’s hammer before, I would encourage you
to at least come by and take one of the Sunday classes before trying this
project. The prerequisites, however, are up to your instructor.
I don’t believe we have a belt sander for the metal shop at this time, and
you will need more than one, depending on class size.
I would recommend limiting the class size to no more than 12 students as we
only have six anvils. As those of you who have participated on a Sunday
know, more than that gets a little crazy and will definitely be frustrating
for delicate work. Again, this is up to the instructor.
Hope this helps a little.
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