PROSPECT HILL FORGE: The Blacksmithing Classroom
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Class List
Alphabetical - Categorical - Calendrical
Gift Certificates are available for all classes.

Introductory:
These classes are designed to allow a beginner to sample the pleasures of blacksmithing without making a large commitment of either time or money. Most Intro classes are short, only a single session of 3 hours or so. Most students will take home a souvenir of their sojourn in our forge.

Techniques:
Classes that focus on a particular technique or set of techniques. Some are suitable for beginners; many have suggested or required pre-requisites. Some Techniques classes take the student through the making of a particular object; others do not.

Projects:
Classes that focus on the making of a particular object, teaching only those techniques necessary to reach that goal. Some Project classes are suitable for beginners; many have suggested or required pre-requisites. All involve the production of a specific piece that the student will be able to take home to show off or give as a gift. Most Project classes are a single 3-hour session; some are 2, 3 or as many as 4 sessions long.

Traditional:
These classes involve the production of traditional items from various periods in history, suitable for living-historians, historical reenactors, and historical home refurnishers. Items vary from the Medieval through the Arts & Crafts movement in style and period.

Family:
Any of our Intro classes and some of our Project classes can also be taught as Family Classes, intended for those with younger teens (under age 16) or mature pre-teens (age 11 or 12) who wish to introduce their children to the delightful art of blacksmithing, under parental supervision. At least one adult family member must also enroll.

Intermediate:
Advanced classes require previous experience in smithing: usually completion of Rudiments I or equivalent.

Shop-time:
Not classes per se, but time for experienced students to come in and use the shop under light supervision.

Miscellaneous:
Various activities that don't really fit into the "class" category. In the future, we'll be adding field trips, public appearances, "Forge-ins," Open Studios, and the like to this category.


  • Introductory:
    Firesteel (aka Fire Striker) - Nothing but Knives - A Taste of Blacksmithing - Tent Stakes and Open Smithy - Cubicle Hooks


    • Firesteel (aka Fire Striker)

      In this class we will make a fire-steel from high-carbon steel and learn to use it.
      Techniques used will be drawing-out, bending, hardening, and tempering.

      When the fire-steel is made we will learn to strike a spark with it and turn that spark into a fire. We will also go over the particulars of making char-cloth for catching the spark.

      When the class is done you will have made a fire-steel, learned to make char cloth, and struck a fire. You will come away with your own fire-making kit consisting of  a fire-steel, a flint, a char-tin & charcloth, and a bit of tinder, enough to get started.

      3.5 hours one session.       Fee: $125

      Back to Top


    • Nothing but Knives

      In this class the student will start with a piece of high-carbon spring steel and make one or more small, simple, one piece knife/knives, suitable for cooking, eating, or general utility use.

      Focus will be entirely on making a knife or two; only those tools, techniques and concepts needed for knife making will be addressed. The fires will be managed by the instructor.

      Techniques include: straightening, drawing out, forging high-carbon steel, twisting, flattening, annealing, filing, grinding, hardening, and tempering.

      6 hours  - three 2 hour meetings  4 students maximum.       Fee: $240

      Back to Top


    • A Taste of Blacksmithing

      In this three hour class you will be introduced to the basic smithing techniques of hammering, drawing-out, cutting, bending, and twisting. Using these techniques and a coal-fired forge you will bring a piece of iron to an incandescent heat and with anvil, hammer, and tongs create one or more cooking skewers or a decorative and useful 'S'-hook.

      3 hours   one meeting          Fee: $60

      Back to Top


    • Tent Stakes and Open Smithy

      A chance to make good solid tent stakes.

      This is sort of a focused Open Smithy* time. The main intent will be to make, you guessed it, tent stakes.

      Techniques: drawing-out, cutting,and bending. Minor coaching on form and technique will be available. We have four coal forges, so that many people (or groups) can be working at once.

      $25/hour

      Back to Top


    • Cubicle Hooks

      In this class we will make a wrought iron piece to hook over the top edge of a cubicle-wall, with a functional coat/purse/backpack hook on the inside and an interesting detail on the outside.
      The techniques involved will be drawing out, cutting, curling and bending.

      3 hours, one meeting       $95

      Back to Top


  • Techniques:
    Basics of Blacksmithing - Butterfly Hinges - Elements of Household Racks - A Taste of Blacksmithing - Rudiments of Blacksmithing I - Rudiments of Blacksmithing II - Rudiments of Blacksmithing III - Simple Knives - Nothing but Knives


    • Basics of Blacksmithing

      In the twelve meetings of this course, you will be exposed to the basics of the language of blacksmithing. From "smash-it-flat" to forge welding. There will be practice pieces, exercises, samplers, problems, and actual projects all aimed at building your smithing vocabulary and fluency. By the end of the course you should be well on your way to thinking like a blacksmith.

      This class is 12 sessions long. Each session is 3 hours.        Fee: $890

      Back to Top


    • Butterfly Hinges

      In this class you will make a pair of simple butterfly hinges, suitable for use on a cupboard, small chest, or box.

      You will learn how to form the eye around the pin, how to adjust the eye so that the hinge turns, how to make the second leaf fit the first, and how to put them together.

      This class is 2 sessions long. Each session is 3 hours.        Fee: $210

      Back to Top


    • Elements of Household Racks

      In this class we will address the techniques necessary to produce a towel rack, be it wide or narrow, intended to hold an elegant cloth towel or a roll of toilet paper.

      With the techniques learned in this class the student will be able to go on and make an entire kitchen or bathroom suite of racks and holders.

      This class is a single session of 3 hours.       Fee: $105

      Back to Top


    • A Taste of Blacksmithing

      In this three hour class you will be introduced to the basic smithing techniques of hammering, drawing-out, cutting, bending, and twisting. Using these techniques and a coal-fired forge you will bring a piece of iron to an incandescent heat and with anvil, hammer, and tongs create one or more cooking skewers or a decorative and useful 'S'-hook.

      3 hours   one meeting          Fee: $60

      Back to Top


    • Rudiments of Blacksmithing I

      This class continues where "A Taste of Blacksmithing" leaves off. You'll learn more about shop safety and begin to work on forge-fire management, while being guided thorough a series of projects that will begin to build your repertoire of basic blacksmithing techniques, including:
      drawing
      bending
      cutting
      twisting
      fullering
      punching
      drifting
      riveting
      Typical projects in Rudiments I include forks, tongs, and ivy-leaf finials. There will be time after the hammers are down for questions and further discussion.

      12 hours total in either 4 3-hour sessions or 6 2-hour sessions.       Fee: $320; a discount applies if signing up for all three Rudiments classes at once.

      Back to Top


    • Rudiments of Blacksmithing II

      This class builds on the skills developed in Rudiments of Blacksmithing I. You'll refine your command of forge-fire management, improve other existing skills, especially forging, and be guided through projects that will expand your repertoire of basic blacksmithing techniques by introducing:
      upsetting
      filing
      hardening
      drilling
      tempering
      sinking
      grinding
      forging high carbon steel
      adjusting tools
      forge-welding
      sharp angle bending
       

      Typical projects in Rudiments II include animorphic heads, spoons, center-punches, chisels, and brackets. As always there will be time after the hammers are down for questions and further discussion.

      12 hours total in either 4 3-hour sessions or 6 2-hour sessions.       Fee: $320; a discount applies if signing up for all three Rudiments classes at once.

      Back to Top


    • Rudiments of Blacksmithing III

      This class continues where Rudiments of Blacksmithing II left off. You'll finally have some idea of how to manage a forge-fire, and get to practice doing so.  While doing so, you'll produce matching scrolls and generally work on having more control over your work, and learn still more basic techniques, including:
      scrollwork
      collaring
      forging pipe
      threading (taps and dies)
      sheet metal work
      bending matching curves

      Typical projects in Rudiments III include candlesticks and ornamental scrollwork.

      12 hours total in either 4 3-hour sessions or 6 2-hour sessions.       Fee: $320; a discount applies if signing up for all three Rudiments classes at once.

      Back to Top


    • Simple Knives

      In this class the student will start with a piece of high-carbon spring steel and make a small, simple, one-piece knife, suitable for cooking, eating, or general utility use. This class is intended for intermediate students; there is another class, Nothing But Knives , for those who want to skip straight to making things with edges.

      Techniques include: straightening, drawing out, hammering high-carbon steel, twisting, flattening, annealing, filing, grinding, hardening, and tempering.

      1 3-hour session.       Fee: $105

      Back to Top


    • Nothing but Knives

      In this class the student will start with a piece of high-carbon spring steel and make one or more small, simple, one piece knife/knives, suitable for cooking, eating, or general utility use.

      Focus will be entirely on making a knife or two; only those tools, techniques and concepts needed for knife making will be addressed. The fires will be managed by the instructor.

      Techniques include: straightening, drawing out, forging high-carbon steel, twisting, flattening, annealing, filing, grinding, hardening, and tempering.

      6 hours  - three 2 hour meetings  4 students maximum.       Fee: $240

      Back to Top


  • Projects:
    Butterfly Hinges - Wrought Iron Candlestick - Heart-Shaped Trivet - Small (Jeweler's) Hammers - Tripods - Tent Stakes and Open Smithy - Fire Tools - Firesteel (aka Fire Striker) - Toasting Forks - Simple Knives - Arrowhead: The armor-piercing bodkin point - Nothing but Knives - Cubicle Hooks


    • Butterfly Hinges

      In this class you will make a pair of simple butterfly hinges, suitable for use on a cupboard, small chest, or box.

      You will learn how to form the eye around the pin, how to adjust the eye so that the hinge turns, how to make the second leaf fit the first, and how to put them together.

      This class is 2 sessions long. Each session is 3 hours.        Fee: $210

      Back to Top


    • Wrought Iron Candlestick

      This class is specifically geared to the production of a simple, elegant and functional candlestick. In the process of making it, you'll cut threads with tap & die, form a tenon, forge pipe, and work with sheet steel.

      When finished with this class, the student should be able to use Open Smithy Time to make as large a set of candlesticks as they desire.

      This class is 9 hours long. Either in three sessions of 3 hours or two sessions of 4 1/2 hours.        Fee: $315

      Back to Top


    • Heart-Shaped Trivet

      This class covers the production of a traditional and useful heart-shaped trivet, based on several in the Sorber collection of colonial wrought iron.

      This class is 2 sessions long. Each session is 3 hours.       Fee: $210

      Back to Top


    • Small (Jeweler's) Hammers

      Learn to make your own jeweler's hammers. The sizes you want, the shapes you want, when you want.
      The focus will be on learning the skills necessary to make small (less than three ounce) hammers for riveting, raising (anti- and syn- clastic), shaping, texturing... whatever.

      12 hours. Four meetings       Fee: $420

      Back to Top


    • Tripods

      In this class we will make a tripod for cooking over a camp fire.

      This is a good solid design that stands well and can also be arranged as two verticals with a horizontal either as a spit or as a bar for hanging utensils from.

      Techniques: hacksawing, drawing-out, bending, twisting (optional)

      2 hours   one meeting           Fee: $80  +  $8- $12 materials fee depending on size of tripod  

      Back to Top


    • Tent Stakes and Open Smithy

      A chance to make good solid tent stakes.

      This is sort of a focused Open Smithy* time. The main intent will be to make, you guessed it, tent stakes.

      Techniques: drawing-out, cutting,and bending. Minor coaching on form and technique will be available. We have four coal forges, so that many people (or groups) can be working at once.

      $25/hour

      Back to Top


    • Fire Tools

      In this intensive class you will make a set of fire-tending tools; a poker, a shovel or hoe, a brush, maybe a pair of tongs, and a wall mounted holder for the set.

      We'll break for a one hour lunch around noon, and a shorter break sometime in the afternoon.

      This is going to be a long day with a lot to get done.

      One 8 hour session.        $275

      Back to Top


    • Firesteel (aka Fire Striker)

      In this class we will make a fire-steel from high-carbon steel and learn to use it.
      Techniques used will be drawing-out, bending, hardening, and tempering.

      When the fire-steel is made we will learn to strike a spark with it and turn that spark into a fire. We will also go over the particulars of making char-cloth for catching the spark.

      When the class is done you will have made a fire-steel, learned to make char cloth, and struck a fire. You will come away with your own fire-making kit consisting of  a fire-steel, a flint, a char-tin & charcloth, and a bit of tinder, enough to get started.

      3.5 hours one session.       Fee: $125

      Back to Top


    • Toasting Forks

      In this class we will make a long-handled two-tined fork suitable for cooking at the grille or over the campfire.

      The techniques involved will be splitting, drawing out, curling & bending, and if there's time, twisting and draw-filing.

      3 1/2 hours, one meeting       $123

      Back to Top


    • Simple Knives

      In this class the student will start with a piece of high-carbon spring steel and make a small, simple, one-piece knife, suitable for cooking, eating, or general utility use. This class is intended for intermediate students; there is another class, Nothing But Knives , for those who want to skip straight to making things with edges.

      Techniques include: straightening, drawing out, hammering high-carbon steel, twisting, flattening, annealing, filing, grinding, hardening, and tempering.

      1 3-hour session.       Fee: $105

      Back to Top


    • Arrowhead: The armor-piercing bodkin point

      We will make a classic medieval bodkin point or two, maybe three.
      The techniques are flattening, curling, cutting on the hardy, and drawing out. There will be a strong focus on hammer control, symmetry in the work, and working in very thin sections.

      There will be a discussion and demo of techniques for weighting and mounting the heads for target archery use.

      3.5 hours one meeting       Fee: $120

      Back to Top


    • Nothing but Knives

      In this class the student will start with a piece of high-carbon spring steel and make one or more small, simple, one piece knife/knives, suitable for cooking, eating, or general utility use.

      Focus will be entirely on making a knife or two; only those tools, techniques and concepts needed for knife making will be addressed. The fires will be managed by the instructor.

      Techniques include: straightening, drawing out, forging high-carbon steel, twisting, flattening, annealing, filing, grinding, hardening, and tempering.

      6 hours  - three 2 hour meetings  4 students maximum.       Fee: $240

      Back to Top


    • Cubicle Hooks

      In this class we will make a wrought iron piece to hook over the top edge of a cubicle-wall, with a functional coat/purse/backpack hook on the inside and an interesting detail on the outside.
      The techniques involved will be drawing out, cutting, curling and bending.

      3 hours, one meeting       $95

      Back to Top


  • Traditional:
    Butterfly Hinges - Wrought Iron Candlestick - Heart-Shaped Trivet - A Taste of Blacksmithing - Tripods - Tent Stakes and Open Smithy - Fire Tools - Firesteel (aka Fire Striker) - Toasting Forks - Arrowhead: The armor-piercing bodkin point


    • Butterfly Hinges

      In this class you will make a pair of simple butterfly hinges, suitable for use on a cupboard, small chest, or box.

      You will learn how to form the eye around the pin, how to adjust the eye so that the hinge turns, how to make the second leaf fit the first, and how to put them together.

      This class is 2 sessions long. Each session is 3 hours.        Fee: $210

      Back to Top


    • Wrought Iron Candlestick

      This class is specifically geared to the production of a simple, elegant and functional candlestick. In the process of making it, you'll cut threads with tap & die, form a tenon, forge pipe, and work with sheet steel.

      When finished with this class, the student should be able to use Open Smithy Time to make as large a set of candlesticks as they desire.

      This class is 9 hours long. Either in three sessions of 3 hours or two sessions of 4 1/2 hours.        Fee: $315

      Back to Top


    • Heart-Shaped Trivet

      This class covers the production of a traditional and useful heart-shaped trivet, based on several in the Sorber collection of colonial wrought iron.

      This class is 2 sessions long. Each session is 3 hours.       Fee: $210

      Back to Top


    • A Taste of Blacksmithing

      In this three hour class you will be introduced to the basic smithing techniques of hammering, drawing-out, cutting, bending, and twisting. Using these techniques and a coal-fired forge you will bring a piece of iron to an incandescent heat and with anvil, hammer, and tongs create one or more cooking skewers or a decorative and useful 'S'-hook.

      3 hours   one meeting          Fee: $60

      Back to Top


    • Tripods

      In this class we will make a tripod for cooking over a camp fire.

      This is a good solid design that stands well and can also be arranged as two verticals with a horizontal either as a spit or as a bar for hanging utensils from.

      Techniques: hacksawing, drawing-out, bending, twisting (optional)

      2 hours   one meeting           Fee: $80  +  $8- $12 materials fee depending on size of tripod  

      Back to Top


    • Tent Stakes and Open Smithy

      A chance to make good solid tent stakes.

      This is sort of a focused Open Smithy* time. The main intent will be to make, you guessed it, tent stakes.

      Techniques: drawing-out, cutting,and bending. Minor coaching on form and technique will be available. We have four coal forges, so that many people (or groups) can be working at once.

      $25/hour

      Back to Top


    • Fire Tools

      In this intensive class you will make a set of fire-tending tools; a poker, a shovel or hoe, a brush, maybe a pair of tongs, and a wall mounted holder for the set.

      We'll break for a one hour lunch around noon, and a shorter break sometime in the afternoon.

      This is going to be a long day with a lot to get done.

      One 8 hour session.        $275

      Back to Top


    • Firesteel (aka Fire Striker)

      In this class we will make a fire-steel from high-carbon steel and learn to use it.
      Techniques used will be drawing-out, bending, hardening, and tempering.

      When the fire-steel is made we will learn to strike a spark with it and turn that spark into a fire. We will also go over the particulars of making char-cloth for catching the spark.

      When the class is done you will have made a fire-steel, learned to make char cloth, and struck a fire. You will come away with your own fire-making kit consisting of  a fire-steel, a flint, a char-tin & charcloth, and a bit of tinder, enough to get started.

      3.5 hours one session.       Fee: $125

      Back to Top


    • Toasting Forks

      In this class we will make a long-handled two-tined fork suitable for cooking at the grille or over the campfire.

      The techniques involved will be splitting, drawing out, curling & bending, and if there's time, twisting and draw-filing.

      3 1/2 hours, one meeting       $123

      Back to Top


    • Arrowhead: The armor-piercing bodkin point

      We will make a classic medieval bodkin point or two, maybe three.
      The techniques are flattening, curling, cutting on the hardy, and drawing out. There will be a strong focus on hammer control, symmetry in the work, and working in very thin sections.

      There will be a discussion and demo of techniques for weighting and mounting the heads for target archery use.

      3.5 hours one meeting       Fee: $120

      Back to Top


  • Family:
    A Taste of Blacksmithing - Rudiments of Blacksmithing I - Firesteel (aka Fire Striker)


    • A Taste of Blacksmithing

      In this three hour class you will be introduced to the basic smithing techniques of hammering, drawing-out, cutting, bending, and twisting. Using these techniques and a coal-fired forge you will bring a piece of iron to an incandescent heat and with anvil, hammer, and tongs create one or more cooking skewers or a decorative and useful 'S'-hook.

      3 hours   one meeting          Fee: $60

      Back to Top


    • Rudiments of Blacksmithing I

      This class continues where "A Taste of Blacksmithing" leaves off. You'll learn more about shop safety and begin to work on forge-fire management, while being guided thorough a series of projects that will begin to build your repertoire of basic blacksmithing techniques, including:
      drawing
      bending
      cutting
      twisting
      fullering
      punching
      drifting
      riveting
      Typical projects in Rudiments I include forks, tongs, and ivy-leaf finials. There will be time after the hammers are down for questions and further discussion.

      12 hours total in either 4 3-hour sessions or 6 2-hour sessions.       Fee: $320; a discount applies if signing up for all three Rudiments classes at once.

      Back to Top


    • Firesteel (aka Fire Striker)

      In this class we will make a fire-steel from high-carbon steel and learn to use it.
      Techniques used will be drawing-out, bending, hardening, and tempering.

      When the fire-steel is made we will learn to strike a spark with it and turn that spark into a fire. We will also go over the particulars of making char-cloth for catching the spark.

      When the class is done you will have made a fire-steel, learned to make char cloth, and struck a fire. You will come away with your own fire-making kit consisting of  a fire-steel, a flint, a char-tin & charcloth, and a bit of tinder, enough to get started.

      3.5 hours one session.       Fee: $125

      Back to Top


  • Intermediate:
    Wrought Iron Candlestick - Fire Tools - Heart-Shaped Trivet - Rudiments of Blacksmithing II - Rudiments of Blacksmithing III - Small (Jeweler's) Hammers - Striker Team


    • Wrought Iron Candlestick

      This class is specifically geared to the production of a simple, elegant and functional candlestick. In the process of making it, you'll cut threads with tap & die, form a tenon, forge pipe, and work with sheet steel.

      When finished with this class, the student should be able to use Open Smithy Time to make as large a set of candlesticks as they desire.

      This class is 9 hours long. Either in three sessions of 3 hours or two sessions of 4 1/2 hours.        Fee: $315

      Back to Top


    • Fire Tools

      In this intensive class you will make a set of fire-tending tools; a poker, a shovel or hoe, a brush, maybe a pair of tongs, and a wall mounted holder for the set.

      We'll break for a one hour lunch around noon, and a shorter break sometime in the afternoon.

      This is going to be a long day with a lot to get done.

      One 8 hour session.        $275

      Back to Top


    • Heart-Shaped Trivet

      This class covers the production of a traditional and useful heart-shaped trivet, based on several in the Sorber collection of colonial wrought iron.

      This class is 2 sessions long. Each session is 3 hours.       Fee: $210

      Back to Top


    • Rudiments of Blacksmithing II

      This class builds on the skills developed in Rudiments of Blacksmithing I. You'll refine your command of forge-fire management, improve other existing skills, especially forging, and be guided through projects that will expand your repertoire of basic blacksmithing techniques by introducing:
      upsetting
      filing
      hardening
      drilling
      tempering
      sinking
      grinding
      forging high carbon steel
      adjusting tools
      forge-welding
      sharp angle bending
       

      Typical projects in Rudiments II include animorphic heads, spoons, center-punches, chisels, and brackets. As always there will be time after the hammers are down for questions and further discussion.

      12 hours total in either 4 3-hour sessions or 6 2-hour sessions.       Fee: $320; a discount applies if signing up for all three Rudiments classes at once.

      Back to Top


    • Rudiments of Blacksmithing III

      This class continues where Rudiments of Blacksmithing II left off. You'll finally have some idea of how to manage a forge-fire, and get to practice doing so.  While doing so, you'll produce matching scrolls and generally work on having more control over your work, and learn still more basic techniques, including:
      scrollwork
      collaring
      forging pipe
      threading (taps and dies)
      sheet metal work
      bending matching curves

      Typical projects in Rudiments III include candlesticks and ornamental scrollwork.

      12 hours total in either 4 3-hour sessions or 6 2-hour sessions.       Fee: $320; a discount applies if signing up for all three Rudiments classes at once.

      Back to Top


    • Small (Jeweler's) Hammers

      Learn to make your own jeweler's hammers. The sizes you want, the shapes you want, when you want.
      The focus will be on learning the skills necessary to make small (less than three ounce) hammers for riveting, raising (anti- and syn- clastic), shaping, texturing... whatever.

      12 hours. Four meetings       Fee: $420

      Back to Top


    • Striker Team

      We'll be learning to strike and to master, with single strikers and with teams of strikers. Striking directly and with set-tools. This is not so much a class in the usual sense as it is an ongoing practice session. There will be training for new people as they arrive, and practice for the more experienced. The projects we work on will be for the smithy or for sale by the smithy. Accordingly, the hourly rate for Striker team practice is lower than the usual Open Smithy rate.

      2 Hours (or so)       Fee: $35

      Back to Top


  • Shop-time:
    Open Smithy


    • Open Smithy

      A chance to work on your own projects or continue on a project begun in a class.

      Hours vary.       $25 per hour 1 hr minimum 10-hour-package discount available

      Back to Top


  • Miscellaneous:
    Striker Team


    • Striker Team

      We'll be learning to strike and to master, with single strikers and with teams of strikers. Striking directly and with set-tools. This is not so much a class in the usual sense as it is an ongoing practice session. There will be training for new people as they arrive, and practice for the more experienced. The projects we work on will be for the smithy or for sale by the smithy. Accordingly, the hourly rate for Striker team practice is lower than the usual Open Smithy rate.

      2 Hours (or so)       Fee: $35

      Back to Top