Arian's Forge reviews

Caroline Howes reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"My partner and I had an amazing time so much so that he wants to sign up to the weekend knife making course. Would 100% recommend. What a great and unusual experience."

Arian's Forge responded:

"Hi Caroline, so glad you enjoyed the course, and thank you for this feedback. It was great to meet you both, and it'd be lovely to see Mat at the knifemaking course, (a Christmas present perhaps??!!). Warm regards to you both, Arian"

Ken Laurie reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"A great day learning the basics of blacksmithing under Arian's patient and hugely enthusiastic guidance. Thoroughly recommended for anyone with even a passing interest in having a go! You'll surprised at what you can produce."

Arian's Forge responded:

"Thank you Ken,I really enjoyed our day and all the great projects. I hope you'll get lots of use for your toasting fork, and thank you for your efforts and focus. Glad that the way I run the course worked well for you, that's the aim! Warm regards Arian"

Andrew Whewell reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"What a brilliant day. Great tutoring and brilliant insight into what can be done with a bit more experience. Came away with a couple of great looking and useful projects. Will enjoy poking my fire using something I will always remember creating myself."

Arian's Forge responded:

"Thank you Andrew for your feedback: great to meet you, and the others on the day. I always try to balance the learning of the blacksmithing process as well as walking of with useful items for yourselves. Thank you for your hard work and focus, and enjoy your fire poker and the hook for years ahead! Regards, Arian"

Chay reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"Great knowledge and really went the extra mile to help us understand the process and history too"

Arian's Forge responded:

"Thank you Chay, great to meet you, and so glad you could make couple of useful tools for your own forge. Let me know if I can be of any help as you continue setting up and exploring this craft. Best wishes Arian"

Lewis reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"I had such a fantastic time on this course. I had never used metal as a material to work with before and had always dreamed of doing it. Arian was such a wonderful teacher , talking me through every step and explaining the reasoning behind why we were using certain techniques. Being out in the countryside was a breath of fresh air and I really enjoyed the free soup! If you're thinking about doing it, you should 😊"

Mike H reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"The enthusiasm, passion, skill and knowledge were clearly expressed throughout the day. I would highly recommend this course to anyone looking for a worthwhile experience day."

Arian's Forge responded:

"Thank you for this feedback, Mike. It was great to meet you, your projects came out very tidy I thought, well done! Many thanks again, Arian"

Julie Hicks reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"Bought as a present for my brother who thoroughly enjoyed the whole day . He said that Arian was a great person with a lot of knowledge not only in the skills of a blacksmith but also the history of the whole process. Small groups worked perfectly to allow full interaction. Will definitely be back "

Arian's Forge responded:

"Thank you so much for this, I really appreciate your feedback and I’m happy that your brother enjoyed his gift and found it a worthwhile experience. Best wishes, Arian"

Chris Bourton reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"I had a great day, a lot of fun and I learned a lot. Arian is a lovely guy, a great tutor and obviuosly very passionate about his craft. I would recommend this experience day to anybody who is interested in metalwork or just in trying something new."

Arian's Forge responded:

"Thank you Chris, I’m glad it was an enjoyable day and a valuable experience for you. Thank you for your feedback, much appreciated. Warm regards, Arian"

Jon Palmer reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"Simply a brilliant day. We learnt much, enjoyed ourselves and created some nice pieces. Arian was knowledgeable, welcoming and very helpful. The setting and forge itself, as it should be. We highly recommend. Thank you. "

Arian's Forge responded:

"Thank you for your review. It was a pleasure to meet you and your son. I’m happy that you both enjoyed the experience and were pleased with the lovely items you produced. Wishing you all the best. Arian"

Dom reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"Absolutely brilliant! Arian provided excellent instruction and I came away with a real sense of achievement having made a couple of pieces. Will definitely be back!"

Arian's Forge responded:

"Thank you very much for your review, I’m happy that you found the experience enjoyable and were pleased with your achievement. Wishing you many happy candlelit moments! Hope to see you again. Best wishes, Arian. "

Ash Bond reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"Bought for me as a present and was expecting a mildly interesting day, but actually it was very interesting and really enjoyable. There's something uniquely satisfying, turning a lump of metal into something useful and/or beautiful via the medium of fire! Arian was a fantastic instructor, full of knowledge, patience and passion. Whether you're into metalworking or not, I'd thoroughly recommend a day smithing, I'm sure you'll enjoy it a lot more than you'd expect. "

Arian's Forge responded:

"Thank you Ash, it was a really enjoyable and constructive day. Lovely to meet you and I’m pleased that you found it a worthwhile experience. Best wishes, Arian "

Lucy reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"Truly one of the most exciting, fun, educational and inspiring courses I've ever done. Arian is an outstanding teacher, he gives you exactly the right mix of information, expert support and freedom to try and experiment and create. I was absolutely exhausted after the course but could not stop grinning. I've got the bug and really looking forward to signing up to learn more. Thank you for such a super, super experience. "

Arian's Forge responded:

"Hi Lucy, I’m glad that you enjoyed the day. Thank you for your hard work on your hook and knife, you have certainly got the aptitude for blacksmithing and I’m glad you’ve got the bug! Hope the blister heals quickly. You’re always welcome back if you want to have another bash. Best wishes, Arian. "

Graham Newman reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"Many thanks Arian for a very fulfilling and memorable day. It is always a pleasure watching and listening to a Master of their craft, and the skill and enjoyable ease of communicating such a wealth of invaluable knowledge and expeience in a friendly, laid back way, made the day one of my more memorable experiences in my now long life! Thank you for your help and guidance in making a fire poker and hook which is proudly gracing our open fireplace and is proof you're never too old to learn! Grateful thanks to chef for the wonderful soup. "

Arian's Forge responded:

"Thank you Graham, it was really good to meet you and your son and I’m delighted that you enjoyed the day. I’m sure your hook and poker will serve you well for years, well made indeed! I look forward to seeing you both at my knife making course soon. Best wishes, Arian. "

Zoe reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"Thank you, we had a fantastic day! I can highly recommend this course for anyone who would like to try a day blacksmithing. My father and I enjoyed every minute. Arian is a wonderful and inspiring teacher. He carefully instructed us throughout our morning apprenticeship. Then once we got the hang of it, he supported us to produce a piece to our own design in the afternoon. We thoroughly enjoyed the whole day and were very pleased with the pieces we produced on the forge. Thank you so much Arian."

Arian's Forge responded:

"Thank you for your feedback Zoe, it was really good to meet you both and I’m glad you enjoyed the experience. Good luck with setting up your own forge! If you need any advice with that please just get in touch. All the best. Arian"

Jamie reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"Arian is a great instructor. Everyone present enjoyed the day and came away from it with useful and well crafted tools we had made ourselves."

Arian's Forge responded:

"Thank you very much for your feedback. It was a pleasure to meet you. I’m really glad that your project worked out well and I hope to see you again at some point - perhaps at archery! Best wishes Arian"

DSanders reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"Thank you for a wonderful day. My husband really enjoyed it. The teaching was super by Arian who was excellent and it was a joy to be taught by him. "

Miles Miller reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"Arian is a fantastic teacher and he runs a great course. He is extremely knowledgeable and has a great wealth of experience across metalworking and the industry. He is also very amenable and friendly, and his good lady wife provided a very tasty mushroom soup for lunch! I would rate this day 11/10, I've done a few different blacksmithing days and this is possibly the best I've done. Thank you for your time Arian, you're a fascinating chap! "

Jonathan Thomas reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"Fantastic experience Really enjoyed the day and instruction was brilliant. Highly recommend this for all "

Simon reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"I recently attended a 1 day blacksmithing experience day with Arian as a gift from my wife. Although it was the coldest day of the year so far it was great fun. Arian is an extremely patient and knowledgeable teacher and he made it a lovely day not withstanding his wife's amazing homemade soup we had for lunch."

Martin Reay reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"This was a really fantastic experience. Arian and his beautiful dog Bear made the whole day a real pleasure, so much so that I am going to book another day at the forge. Thank you so much."

Arian's Forge responded:

"Thank you for your lovely feedback Martin. It was a very enjoyable day and wonderful to see some really good efforts. I look forward to seeing you back at the forge soon! Arian. "

Gabor Herczeg reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"What a great day! We learnt the basics before lunch with a small project, and worked on bigger projects (or on our own idea) after lunch. It was great all over. The instructor was really skilled, and helpful as well. He left us work on our own, but always kept an eye on us, and answered questions when it was needed, helped when that was needed, and saved the project when I was about to ruin it :) I can recommend it to anyone. (It doesn't require too much strength at all, so really, I would recommend it to anyone!)"

Simon reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"Superb! What a fantastic day at Arian’s Forge- wonderful location and once you’ve left your car behind on arrival you could have teleported backwards in time a few centuries. Totally immersed in a completely authentic working blacksmiths shop learning in no short order the various disciplines of forging steel and ultimately going home at the end of the day with things you never dreamt you could fashion yourself out of a bit of metal bar. Cannot recommend highly enough. "

Ben reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"Very enjoyable day, with lots of practical opportunities but also a clear explanation of the process. There was a relaxed but productive atmosphere with a nice group and a very helpful, informative teacher. I was pleased with the items I made and want to get my own forge now! Addictive"

Julian reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"Really great day, fun, nice people and learned a lot."

Tony Piff reviewed: Blacksmithing experience day

"Well that was fun!! Aided by Arian who is a very enthusiastic, patient teacher, who makes a good soup (cooked on the forge naturally), I was able to produce some authentic hand made pieces. My ‘day’ was bought as a 70th birthday present & it was a really enjoyable experience. Thanks Arian for a really good day. "