Hammerskills reviews

29 Jun 19'

John Goodwin reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"This was easily the best blacksmith course I have done (and I have done a few!). The emphasis was definitely on developing skills rather than just completing a finished object (although I was very pleased with my products) as can be found on other courses. Bob is a great teacher, giving you guidance and advice but also leaving you time to work on your skills, and most importantly a desire to do it again and become even better."

7 Jun 19'

Gary O’Brien reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"Myself and my two sons, had a great day on the course, which was perfectly ran by Bob, who is a real character. We had lots of laughs, and learnt an awful lot, thanks to Bob's guidance, and we had a brilliant lunch with him at the local dine-in chip shop, which I thoroughly recommend. We made a boot scraper, a set of Belfast sink brackets, and Dan’s unique long handled shoe horn!! I can’t recommend the course enough, plus we stayed overnight at The Fleece pub nearby which was brilliant as well. Cheers again Bob....!"

8 May 19'

Stephen reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"Fantastic day. Hard work, taught basic skills and then made our door foot scraper."

17 Mar 19'

Geoff reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"Went last week, had a great time with Bob and learnt alot. One of the things I made was a bottle opener, which I've used frequently since."

23 Feb 19'

Andy reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"Completed a day with Bob last week. He is a knowledgeable and patient teacher. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely do it again. Excellent course."

18 Feb 19'

Jack Cook reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"absolutely amazing time, been a couple of times now, with both Colin and Bob and they are both patient and good teachers"

24 Jan 19'

Daniel Mobbs reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"I booked this course as i wanted to get in to blacksmithing as a hobby, and i am glad i did. Bob has loads of patience and talks through the process, step by step in a calm manner. I made a set of tongs to carry on my blacksmithijg journey. Cheers Bob Ps fish and chips are good too."

13 Nov 18'

Peter Lawton reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"My son and I had a brilliant day with Bob! I hadn't used a forge since I was at school and that probably made me a liability; but Bob took us both through each of the essential, primary, hammer skills over and over, step by step until something akin to competence emerged. His patience paid off because we both managed to make a useful item: my son a Viking knife and me, a poker. Wonderful and permanent reminders of a great day. Thank you Bob"

6 Nov 18'

Richard reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"Thanks for the course today. It was superb. Amazing to see the way you handled the metal and great to try my hand at trying some of the blacksmith basics and thrilled to be able to take away a few self made items too!! I'll definitely recommend you and Colin to anyone who asks. It was a pleasure to meet you and a great way to try something new. Many thanks"

27 Oct 18'

Mark reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"Bob is an excellent tutor. Patient, intuitive and fun to work with. We're complete novices at blacksmithing with a look to setting ourselves up a hobby workshop. Bob took us from working the hammer and the fire right through to making our own door handles and a giant toasting fork. Thanks for a great day."

24 Oct 18'

Andrew Hilton reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"I had an enjoyable and instructive day with Bob. He takes you through the fundamentals, with a concentration on getting the basic techniques right, which is an essential foundation for everything that follows. Then in the afternoon we made a couple of pairs of Blacksmith's tongs to take home. Everything is explained well, with a demonstration followed by putting it into practice yourself. I really recommend this day, either to try Blacksmithing out, or to enhance your techniques. There are plentiful cups of tea and Bob is a really nice bloke. What more could you want !"

16 Oct 18'

Derek reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"I did this course with Bob and thought it excellent, you get a good insight into the trade whilst also learning all the basics. I made a couple of holdfasts for my work bench in the afternoon and a lovely decorative poker for my fire, Bob knows his trade very well and puts you at ease from the start. If you're interested then I would highly recommend this course."

12 Oct 18'

Phil Partington reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"A great experience. Went with my brother to celebrate my 65th birthday. We both learnt such a lot from Bob and the banter between us all was good. I left with a very fine poker and Les with a welly boot scraper. Would highly recommend this experience. Thanks Bob, a day to remember."

29 Sep 18'

John Lynch reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"Utterly brilliant. Bob has a very well paced training programme that built the skills. He then supported & encouraged individual work to achieve my dream piece. Bob & the forge is the real deal."

25 Sep 18'

Dave reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"Well Bob you’re an amazing bloke. Had an incredible time, learning a variety of new skills. One of the best days of my life. Seriously if you want to get into blacksmithing; try it. You won’t regret it."

21 Sep 18'

Matt Walsh reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"Fantastic day with Bob. Great experience and a brilliant and patient tutor. The course itself progressed nicely from basic forge and hammer control to handle and fork making. A long and hard day but very much worth while. I would recommend this to anyone who want to give blacksmithing/metal work a go."

29 Aug 18'

Tony Saberton reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"Fantastic day learning how to work the the metal into something more! Bob is fantastically patient and has a critical eye for seeing what's going wrong. With just a few words he told me exactly why I wasn't getting the right result so the next attempt was always better! My wife is very impressed with the letter opener, slightly less impressed with the bottle opener (which has been put to good use tonight!) and loves the expertly crafted horseshoe. I hope I'll be back but you can rest assured I'll be recommending the day to everyone. Thanks for a truly enjoyable memorable day!"

11 Aug 18'

John Lyons reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"Had a great day with Bob, on his Hammer Skills course. I am not a physically strong person and am recovering from long-term illness, personally I didn't expect to be able to cope with holding a hammer for a day. However, Bob was aware of my needs and abilities. He gently guided me through a series of skills, gradually improving skill-on-skill through the day. I wanted to know if I could take up blacksmithing as a hobby to make garden furniture/sculptures and came away knowing that "yes" I can do this! Thanks Bob...much appreciated! I am very happy to recommend your course to my friends, family and business associates! (Just so long as you don't get too busy to be able to take me back for more training!!!)"

29 Jul 18'

Alastair reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"Really enjoyable day, I learnt a lot within the time, and was able to make progress. It's tiring, but worth it and is a great way to introduce you to the skill and knowledge required for blacksmithing. Plus you get to take home your creations."

17 Jul 18'

Dave McLoughlin reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"Booked this course with Bob and had the best time ever, the course was delivered in an informal but professional manner by Bob, my course was one on one and i had a full day of trying to copy the techniques that Bob not only demonstrated but made them look so easy, as do all master craftsmen. After a full day spent between forge, anvil and hammer i produced a take home piece that i am truly hapoy with, thanks Bob for a wonderful day."

29 May 18'

Gary Taraldsen reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"I attended bobs 1 day hammer skills course as a birthday present from my fiancee. I had an absolutely awesome day thank you so much bob. I learnt so much from bob who is a natural teacher and very patient, he taylors the course around you. I came away with a new passion absolutely loved my whole day drove home grinning like the Cheshire cat, my fiancee loved her new candle holders. I would highly recommend this course to everyone I will certainly be back bob very soon got loads of ideas."

23 May 18'

David Thompson reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"My wife arranged this for my sixtieth birthday surprise, had been mentioning my desire to do something just like this. I couldn't believe my good fortune when an old colleague of nearly thirty years ago was doing this course. I remembered that Bob Pickard was a Blacksmith and had to take a subaticle from smithing. Well he certainly knows his stuff and his skill is something to be envied, he put me through a very enjoyable experience, yes for periods my arm gave way but a five minute break and a little refreshment enabled me to go on. You do learn very quickly that it is not how hard you hit but the accuracy of the hit and with Bob's patience managed to produce a basic implement, a fork, which I know show off to family and friends. I do think that my tale will lead to others booking. I can only recommend the experience, one that you will always remember. Excellent Bob."

13 May 18'

Dan reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"My wife and I spent a wonderful afternoon in the tutelage of Bob, where we learned the basics of using the fire hammer and anvil to shape metal in different ways. Bob's experience makes it an absolute pleasure to watch and learn from and his helpful manner made us feel welcome and confident as we made hard work of what he showed effortlessly. It was thoroughly enjoyable and really interesting as an intro in to something we had never tried before."

8 Apr 18'

Vicky reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"Had a really great time doing this course. Something very different . Provided a glimpse of complexity in blacksmithing. Definitely recommended!"

2 Apr 18'

Roy Greenhalgh reviewed: Blacksmithing - one to one - Hammer Skills

"I recently attender the Blacksmith Hammer Skills course with a friend and we had a brilliant day. We were made so welcome by Bob the instructor who did a great job at showing us how to heat and fashion metal bars. The snail I made has pride of place in the windowsill. I would definitely recommend this experience, it was such a great day out."