Chris The Smith reviews

9 Sep 24'

D Church reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One

"I recently attended the ‘Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One’ and had a great day! The course was a wonderful birthday gift and a was a day well spent. I learned a lot and even remembered a few forgotten skills… not that I hadn’t appreciated it before, but there is more to being a blacksmith than just heating metal and belting it with a hammer! Chris’s structuring of the course, with his amiable mentoring and step-by-step guidance, made my experience interesting and rewarding. All-in-all, a great introduction to ‘blacksmith-ing’ - highly recommended."

10 Feb 24'

Mary reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One

"I can thoroughly recommend this course. Chris was a fabulous teacher and was great fun to spend the day with. I came away having learnt a huge amount about being a blacksmith, the history of blacksmithing and also with a sense of fulfillment at having tried my hand at a new skill. "

19 Jan 24'

Simon Benn reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One

"I had not been striking metal on an anvil since 1980 at school. Chris helped me create two pieces during the day by explaining why and how I was going to do the next task, then watching Chris do the task, followed by me doing the same task with guidance all the way. The time flew by as the conversation throughout the day was great. As an experience there is nothing I would change. The leaf key-ring I made now holds the keys to my workshop as a permanent reminder of a wonderful day. It has left me wanting to do more, as the sense of achievement I got from this day is so good. I thoroughly recommend this day as you will leave the forge with a big smile on your face."

12 Jan 24'

Bob Mitchell-King reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One

"Excellent day's experience of blacksmithing. Chris answered all my questions and gave me much to think about."

15 Dec 23'

Andy Liddle reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for Two

"Thoroughly enjoyed the day. Great tuition at a nice steady pace with everything explained clearly. Look forward to the next day with you Chris!"

27 Nov 23'

Lorri reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for Two

"Fantastic day with Chris. Extremely informative and good fun. Chris has an excellent way of teaching and passing on his passion for the craft and was extremely helpful and understanding when we needed to change dates. Would thoroughly recommend this experience with Chris. "

21 Nov 23'

Craig reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One

"I was able to fulfill a long term ambition to return to the forge after a 40+ year absence having last hit an anvil back at school. My day with Chris was so rewarding. The day was well structured and paced appropriately. I so want to go back."

6 Sep 23'

Jo reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One

"Great day with Chris. Excellent tuition and Chris is relaxed and very experienced in his craft. Would highly recommend. "

14 Jul 23'

Karen reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for Two

"We had a great day with Chris learning a variety of techniques and finishing up with a lovely keepsake. He was a patient teacher, happy to let us perform all the steps even when it took us a while! Highly recommended. He was also very helpful when we had to rearrange an earlier date at short notice due to illness."

23 Jun 23'

Florian reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One

"Very skilled teacher, very good experience to do "

21 Jun 23'

Mike Fricker reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for Two

"Great day, Chris is an experienced, calm and good tutor. He explains at a really good pace and demonstrates brilliantly. My son and I had a great day and I would recommend to anyone wanting to try out forge working. "

1 Jun 23'

Ian Joyce reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One

"It's difficult to add much to what has already been said about Chris and his teaching style. I felt fully engaged all day never being left with a question unanswered. Of course I left with a couple of dubiously crafted items that Chris was very polite about... Thanks Chris, I heartily recommend this day."

19 May 23'

Dave Mitchell reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One

"Had a great day with Chris, he has a calmness about him that gives you the confidence to carry out the various tasks throughout the day. Would definitely recommend and great value for money."

30 Apr 23'

Carl reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One

"Fantastic day and 100% value for money. Chris is an awesome tutor and finds the right mix between theory and practical. His training method ensures you know the end to end process of forging from forge design, H&S, tools and equipment, the stages of creating a piece and finishing. The practical element saw me make two pieces within the time and each piece was step by step with Chris demonstrating each step and me following after. I’ve walked away with both the desire and the confidence to do some on my own! Top day Chris thanks very much! Definitely recommend. "

31 Mar 23'

Allyson reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One

"Great course with excellent tuition, good clear guidance and very informative - came away with some items - who knew I could work with metal! Would recommend as a great opportunity to try working with a different material - a great day was had "

8 Mar 23'

Sandy G-S reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for Two

"This is a superb course. Chris is a very informative, knowledgable, skillful and patient tutor. Each stage was explained and demonstrated before we attempted it ourselves. Would recommend to anyone interested in artistic blacksmithing."

28 Feb 23'

Matt Cartwright reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One

"Fantastic Experience, not only had a great day with a very friendly instructor but came home with the signature leaf keyring and additionally a unique letter opener. Would highly recommend to anyone who's had any interest in smithing!"

13 Jan 23'

Dave andrews reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One

"Christmas gift for hubby who had an amazing day and bought home some great makes. Think he will be coming back. Thanks Chris . Would highly recommend to anyone"

9 Dec 22'

Jill reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One

"This was a really amazing experience, and very well-taught. Everything was explained so well, and broken down into manageable steps that built a great range of skills for working with metal. I've never had the chance to have a go at anything like this before and I'm absolutely delighted to come away with 2 finished pieces that I'm very proud of. Thank you!"

2 Nov 22'

John leahy reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One

"Most enjoyable day, Chris discussed some bespoke ideas and encouraged and taught the required skills throughout the day. I hIghly recommend him."

26 Oct 22'

Azeem reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for Two

"Did the one day beginner experience with my girlfriend. Chris is a brilliant teacher and it was great learning from him. Cannot recommend it enough and got a nice keyring out of it to boot!"

20 Oct 22'

Dave Richards reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One

"I cannot add anything further than has already been said by the previous reviewers. This guy is consistently great. A brilliant, patient teacher and a comprehensively capable practitioner. I will be back for another session as it is obvious he has so much more left to teach and is so clearly capable of teaching to that higher level and beyond. "

7 Oct 22'

Dave and Sally Walker reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for Two

"We had a really enjoyable time and learnt many techniques during the production of our key fobs. Chris is a great teacher, very easy to get on with and we would very much recommend his courses."

23 Aug 22'

Adrian Cresswell reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for One

"I’ve just had a wonderful day in the forge. Chris was a superb teacher, not just explaining what to do, but always helping me understood why. He was patient with all my questions and great at giving me ways to fix my mistakes! I am very proud of the support-crook-hook-garden stake thing I made today to hold up a garden suncatcher. If you are interested in practical things, I can 100% recommend spending a day at Chris’s forge. I shall be adding it to my birthday list in the hope that I can go again before too long!"

30 Jul 22'

Angela reviewed: Blacksmithing for Beginners - Full Day Forging for Two

"A fabulous day. Chris was great, explaining and demonstrating every step clearly and then carefully supervising us as we followed his instructions. He was very patient and happy to answer all of my 15 yr olds questions. Really pleased with our leaf key rings. We can both highly recommend this day and Chris as a tutor. We will definitely look into doing another day with Chris. "