Anvil Forge reviews

30 Oct 17'

Stewart Ower reviewed: Blacksmith Experience Day - Anvil Forge

"Fantastic day, really great experience. John and his team were attentive, enthusiastic and encouraged throughout the day imparting their wealth of experience. I would definitely recommend and look forward to going back. Thank you."

29 Oct 17'

Gillian Thomas reviewed: Knife Making and Bladesmith Classes: Hand-Forged Viking Knife

"I thoroughly enjoyed the day and made a knife which is (startlingly) capable of neatly slicing tomatoes! Perfect for re-enactment cookery. I am quite small so have realised it would have maybe been a little easier with one of the lower anvils; definitely using the angle grinder at a lower bench was a good move, but age and gender are no excuse for not trying this class. A complete escape from daily life and challenging enough to give a great sense of achievement, but manageable too. Delicious lunch. Book soon because I am telling all my friends to go."

27 Oct 17'

Alana reviewed: Blacksmith Experience Day - Anvil Forge

"My partner and I went on this course as a birthday treat and would highly recommend it. We picked this blacksmithing experience because you could choose to work on your own projects in the afternoon. We made a number plate for our house which worked out perfectly with the team's support. They encouraged us to be more ambitious and helped us to also make a garden sculpture. I found the team really supportive across the whole day. It was also great fun meeting the others on the course and seeing what they worked on."

16 Oct 17'

Paul reviewed: Knife Making and Bladesmith Classes: Hand-Forged Viking Knife

"So much fun!!! They're great guys there and you will get dirty! Haha, also the pub they take you to does lovely food!"

2 Aug 17'

Stefan N reviewed: Blacksmith Experience Day - Anvil Forge

"We had an excellent day with John and the team. Their expertise and enthusiasm drove the day and our varied projects forward. We all finished the day tired, with aching arms, dirty faces and big smiles. We will definitely be making a return visit."

16 Jul 17'

Gary Smith reviewed: Knife Making and Bladesmith Classes: Hand-Forged Viking Knife

"I had a fantastic day from beginning to end- as a big fan of Forged in Fire I was looking forward to learning the skills of how to make my own knife. The team at the forge - John and Steve especially - were very helpful and willing to pass on their skills. A friendly and welcoming team - I look forward to a return visit. I would highly recommend a visit to the forge if this is something you are thinking about trying."

9 Jul 17'

Paul Stafford reviewed: Knife Making and Bladesmith Classes: Hand-Forged Viking Knife

"Had a great day and even as a total novice I walked away with a blade to be proud to have forged. Very friendly and knowledgeable team who are willing to pass on all the tricks and tips you need to produce a working, hardened blade. I'll definitely be going back for more."

9 Jul 17'

James Silk reviewed: Blacksmith Experience Day - Anvil Forge

"Cracking course - great, helpful staff, excellent equipment well worth it. If you're considering buying some handmade, why not save some money and get the satisfaction of doing it yourself on this course?"

23 Jun 17'

Pete berry reviewed: Knife Making and Bladesmith Classes: Hand-Forged Viking Knife

"Right gonna keep this short! Wow what a day!!!everything was spot on from the cup of tea first thing to the goodbyes at the end. John, steve and the lads are so knowledgeable and you can not help but soak up everything they say. It feet like i had worked in the forge for years! Cheers guys im comming back!!"

18 Jun 17'

Edward Bird reviewed: Blacksmith Experience Day - Anvil Forge

"My wife and I attended a Saturday "Blacksmith experience day" which she paid for as a gift for my 65th birthday. The course was great fun and very creative, we both made a poker to start with and then collaborated on a garden sculpture which was finished by five p.m. and we took it home finished due to all the help from John and his team of Spencer and Olly. It was a hot day but refreshments were provided and lunchtime meant a visit to a local pub for a drink and a meal (all included). The premises are a genuine working environment that works all week on commercial projects and gives courses when appropriate. If you are interested I cannot recommend this highly enough."

7 Jun 17'

Steve Ritzema, Hampshire reviewed: Blacksmith Experience Day - Anvil Forge

"Had a fantastic day getting back in contact with my metal working side. John and his team were great tutors and to some extent evil geniuses. My longbow stand turned into a long-sword much to the jealousy of my son. Well, <<could>> stand two bows against it if you wanted – bonus ! A whit filled day where you become a real black-smith (shower for about 45 mins to just be a smith!). Excellent fun – plan to come back with son in tow. Thanks for a great day !"

7 Jun 17'

Steve Ritzema, Hampshire reviewed: Knife Making and Bladesmith Classes: Hand-Forged Viking Knife

"I ended up making more than just a knife under the creative tutelage John and his team. Great way to re-connect with your metal beating side and learn something at the same time. A well organised day - if you go, keep turning right once you've entered the farm and you'll find it unobtrusively in the corner. Son was very very jealous of what I made and I'll be coming back again with him in tow (daughter thought I got too dirty !) - there's a reason they're called Black-smiths ! Great day, interesting genuine people. Well worth it - thanks again."

6 Jun 17'

Lucas Black reviewed: Knife Making and Bladesmith Classes: Hand-Forged Viking Knife

"A well paced introduction to blacksmithing and blade making aimed at the young and old alike. I was very happy with the entire day. From starting out on a fire poker to making a handled blade and then heat treating the cutting edge. I came away with a very useable knife."

6 Jun 17'

Sam Moore reviewed: Knife Making and Bladesmith Classes: Hand-Forged Viking Knife

"Had a fantastic day on Saturday with John and Steve. Will definitely be going back."

19 Apr 17'

Clive Nunn reviewed: Blacksmith Experience Day - Anvil Forge

"Never having set foot inside a Blacksmith's workshop before, I wasn't at all sure what to expect, or whether I would come away with anything worth keeping. I found myself standing in a large and very well-equipped workshop, part of a small group of rather apprehensive would-be blacksmiths. We were soon put at ease by the friendly greeting and detailed health and safety briefing, and in no time at all we had all made our first item - a decorative poker. I was astonished by the quality of what I had been able to achieve as a complete novice - thanks mainly to John Loveluck's expert guidance. By now I was feeling more confident and ready to start my project. John and his team were on hand all day to provide friendly help and advice, and it was fascinating to learn some of the basic skills of a blacksmith. Moreover, at the end of the day each of us was able to take something home of which we could be proud. Even my wife was impressed with what I had made, insisting that it be mounted by the front door for all the world to see. Praise indeed! All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding day."

27 Mar 17'

Neil reviewed: Blacksmith Experience Day - Anvil Forge

"I was not sure what to expect as I parked outside Anvil Forge on Saturday morning . Within 20 minutes, after a safety talk and demonstration, we were straight into heating , hammering and bending metal to construct a poker. John and his team challenged our project ideas for the afternoon session, encouraging us to try new skills and equipment, while at the same time developing the skills experienced earlier that morning. We were given the opportunity to work by ourselves, yet help and advice were close at hand when required. Have a look at the photos of projects completed by people who have attended this fantastic course so that you can have an idea as to what you want to achieve by the end of the day. Think big- John and his team will help you achieve it."

26 Mar 17'

Angela reviewed: Blacksmith Experience Day - Anvil Forge

"Very enjoyable day creating with expert guidance by John and Spencer. I love my pig and he has pride of place on the fireplace. If you're looking for something different to do then give this a go. You won't be disappointed!"

24 Mar 17'

Terry Follen reviewed: Blacksmith Experience Day - Anvil Forge

"This was a truly great day to meet interesting people while being creative, learning new skills, enjoying convivial banter, a fair amount of exercise; and then taking home our creations to (hopefully) impress friends and family. Interesting People, Good Banter Including me there were five students (four men and one lady) and two blacksmiths - There was a pretty wide diversity of professions including a garden fence contractor, a brass musical instrument restorer and me, a semi-retired accountant. Just chatting to the two blacksmiths about the history of blacksmithing and then looking around the various projects on display around the workshop was riveting [pun intended]. Throughout the day there was much chat and good humour – moreso over the excellent pub lunch. Learning new skills After the introduction and safety briefing, we were instructed on how to forge a piece of square section iron into a poker. After heating one end of our irons in the forge we each found ourselves a hammer and a spare anvil and started hammering the red hot metal into a long point - at first this was not as easy as you might think as we soon found out that you had to, periodically, reheat the iron to keep it at the right brightness of red and making sure the hammering was fairly precise to keep its sides uniform and straight. We then had to make the handle end by first heating and hammering the end into a flat shape and then curving the soft metal between two pegs on the anvil; the finishing touch was to twist a spiral in the middle section. It looked great. Other skills learnt depended upon the other piece you had decided to make and for me it was more forging, bending and welding but on round rod which is more difficult to hammer a point than square. Our creations Before the day we were asked to think of something we would like to make. My project was a bird feeding station and the others were two fire-log holders, a music stand and bird shapes for a wall decoration. The day flew by and I wondered if we would all make it as our projects involved varying levels of difficulty and complexity, but with our two experts on hand to help us along we all got there in the end. I have to say the bird feeding station came out looking really good and, most important, my wife (who gave me the course as a Christmas gift) was delighted, proudly showing it off to all visitors. Exercise! I’m fairly fit and, in retirement, do a lot of digging on a large allotment but, as most of my working life was either chatting in meetings or tapping keys on a computer keyboard, I found that Blacksmithing can be pretty hard work. My project involved a lot of hammering and I was glad when John called the lunch time break. Nonetheless, after a beer, a good lunch and a gradual improvement in technique (although at one point John did give me a nudge and a smile telling me “you’ve got too many irons in the fire”) I was able to complete the tasks without losing the ability to lift my arm!"

24 Mar 17'

Brian Young reviewed: Blacksmith Experience Day - Anvil Forge

"As a retired Chartered Engineer I found this course very interesting and informative. The course leader, John, was extremely competent in teaching the techniques, helpful with ideas for projects and his enthusiasm was infectious. At the end of the day all course members felt they had achieved something worthwhile having had a very interesting and productive introduction to this ancient craft, I have recommended this course to many friends."

6 Feb 17'

Lisa O'Brien reviewed: Blacksmith Experience Day - Anvil Forge

"I booked this day for my partner and me as a Christmas present and we both an excellent day. As a 5ft 4ft, not particularly beefy female, I admit I was a little unsure whether I'd have the physical strength to make any impression on the metal. However I was in good company of a couple of other similarly sized women and the competition element of not being left behind by them, (let alone my partner with his background in metalwork & engineering), got the better of me! We all managed very well indeed, with the guidance and encouragement from John and the team. My partner thoroughly enjoyed the creative side, as well as being quite a flair for it. Having just had a woodburner installed, I was thrilled that we managed to made a poker, a shovel and between us a log basket. The log basket was made to a design we'd seen, which John helped us to interpret. I liked the pub lunch idea as it made for a nice sociable break in the day. All in all a superb day and I'm hoping to go back at some point soon to try out one of the other themed days that John will be introducing."

23 Jan 17'

Karen Anderson reviewed: Blacksmith Experience Day - Anvil Forge

"My husband and I had a great day at Anvil Forge and were spoilt by our 1:1 tuition from John and Spencer. We were given clear instruction and guidance yet afforded the opportunity to fully construct our pieces ourselves. In addition to the satisfaction provided by hammering hot metal, we also tried our hand at welding too. Despite my comments at the start of the day that I am not very creative, I was thrilled with my bullrushes garden ornament. I foresee another visit to Anvil Forge in the future."

6 Nov 16'

Peter Scott reviewed: Blacksmith Experience Day - Anvil Forge

"As a group the aim was to hammer red hot bits of metal. We did this and so much more. John and his team welcomed us their place of work and soon set the prefect tone for a great day. After a short safety introduction, we were straight into making a poker each which fulfilled the main objective of hammering red hot bits of metal. This was great fun and proved that you need less brawn and more brains than the task would first suggest. I particularly enjoyed putting in the candy twist into the poker. John had asked us to come with a project in mind and soon he had helped plan a way to translate our ideas into reality. We made between us a forge knife, a boot stand, a number of dragonflies and ocean scene. I had to weld in the afternoon, a first for me !! I never felt rushed or out of my depth with the plenty of helpful guidance, tea and biscuits. It was truly amazing what we all managed to make in a single day. The best recommendation I can give, is that this day is firmly in our calendar's to repeat next year and I will build a plant trellis next time."

31 Oct 16'

Clint reviewed: Blacksmith Experience Day - Anvil Forge

"I attended a course at the Anvil Forge with my son and two my colleagues. We had a fabulous day. John and his partner were fabulous. They have an engaging style and the skills of true craftsmen. We learned a lot, had a fabulous experience and laughed a lot. We had a great pub lunch and came away really proud of the practical things we had made. We were so impressed by what John and his colleagues can do that my wife commissioned him to make her a Christmas Sleigh and my son had him complete a companion set for his new home. We definitely plan to go back again."

31 Oct 16'

Tim Fowler reviewed: Blacksmith Experience Day - Anvil Forge

"Having no previous experience of metalworking, I was looking forward to John's course but uncertain what to expect. I needn't have worried - we were well looked after by John and his team, given access to all manner of tools and techniques through the day, and thoroughly enjoyed whole thing! There's something fundamentally satisfying about hammering the hell out of glowing steel on an anvil, and transforming an intangible idea into something solid. Try it !"

31 Oct 16'

Alex Freeman reviewed: Blacksmith Experience Day - Anvil Forge

"if you're looking for a fun day with a difference, then a day learning some of the ancient skills of blacksmithing at the Anvil Forge is a must. What a fantastic day; we left with a real sense of achievement, a great understanding of the art and science of smithing and a finished project to be proud of. John runs the day with a very relaxed, informal style - he has a wealth and depth of knowledge that he readily shares and he's great with all ages. My teenage daughters loved the day, thought that John was a superb teacher and want to go back for more! I'd recommend the day to anyone who's looking for a very creative, unusual and satisfying activity; be prepared for some hard work, a 5lot of smiles and a great sense of satisfaction at the end of the day."