Gift Cards

Tree Swift Goods

Knife Making Course Gift Card

£245.00 GBP
£245.00 GBP
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Tax included.
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Tree Swift Goods

Tree Swift Goods Gift Card

£10.00 GBP
£10.00 GBP
Sale Sold out
Tax included.
Denominations
View full details

Location

Where are the courses held?

My workshop is located near Woodton, very close to the border of Norfolk and Suffolk, 10 mins drive from Bungay. The nearest city is Norwich which is only 30 mins away. The workshop is pretty remote, surrounded by beautiful countryside. The site itself is surrounded by trees including a 500 year old oak tree.

Lunch & Clothing

What should I bring along for the course?

The main thing you need to bring with you is some lunch and snacks. We will break periodically throughout the day. It can be a long day and we all need to stay fuelled and hydrated. I will provide tea, coffee and biscuits to help keep you going. I would recommend waterproof shoes if possible as we use water to cool the steel whilst grinding and some of this will end up on the floor. I will provide aprons and all the PPE you will need. I would also recommend wearing natural fibres as grinding steel will produce sparks.

Safety

Is it dangerous?

The course has been designed with safety in mind from the outset. For most of the steps using machinery we use push sticks, jigs and vices. I will give a demonstration of how to carry these out with minimal risk prior to each step. If the students are uncomfortable with any of the steps I'm happy to carry these out. Certain steps will be carried out by myself to limit risk to the student. The knives don't get sharpened until the last 20 minutes, so as a process it isn't much more dangerous than any other metalwork.

Age Limit

My son is 16 can he make a knife?

I don't currently accommodate under 18's on my knife making courses. Under 18's would require a guardian present and I don't have the space for a total of 4 people in the workshop at present.

Forging?

Do we forge the knives?

No, we don’t forge the knives in this course. While forging can be fun, it isn’t a necessary step in modern knife making. Historically, it was used to conserve material, but with today’s high-quality steels it’s far more efficient, and better for the final product to grind the knife from a flat bar.

Forging also stresses the steel, meaning additional processes are needed to bring it back to a suitable condition for a quality blade. Most forged knives are made from high-carbon steel, which lacks the corrosion resistance of the premium stainless steels I prefer to use. By starting with stainless steel, students leave with a knife that’s easier to maintain and will look the same years from now with minimal care, something high-carbon steel can’t offer.

Since this is a one-day course, skipping the forging step also gives us the time to create a fully custom handle, which is a major advantage for students.

Accomodation

If I'm travelling where can I stay?

I help manage a couple of Airbnb properties both within a 5 minute drive. If you are travelling some distance and need a space to stay let me know and I will send you the links to these properties. If they are booked up I also have a neighbour with an Airbnb property.