Oldfield Forge Experience Days reviews

14 Jul 24'

Andy Bennett reviewed: Knife making in the bladesmith's forge

"I did the knife forging course with my adult son; we both left with really great pieces that we’d made ourselves. Would recommend this to anyone!"

31 May 24'

B G reviewed: Blacksmithing Taster Experience

"The entire experience was excellent from start to finish! Hot fires, melted metal, the sound of hammers throughout our day. Ben was a brilliant teacher and guide. As were all the other tutors! 100/10. Nothing negative can be said. Genuinely awesome fun. And you get to create something truly unique to yourself. Definitely doing this again multiple times!"

31 May 24'

Uda reviewed: Blacksmithing Taster Experience

"Absolutely amazing 3-hour course in which we each made a viking knife or a herb cutter (our choices). Great tuition, and we were left to our own devices (safely!) with expert guidance when needed. Be sure to wear closed-toed shoes and long trousers and sleeves. I thought I might not be strong enough, but even at age 60 my strength was enough...with a little help from Benedict just a couple of times. Have a couple of plasters to hand, and a water bottle. Excellent experience, I highly recommend doing this course and am very proud of my knife. "

31 May 24'

Becca reviewed: Blacksmithing Taster Experience

"Me and my siblings bought this course as a birthday present for our mum. We all had the best day, learned a lot and were really happy with our makes. Great instructors, shout out to Ben who told us loads about the history of Blacksmithing as well as teaching us. A great experience, we'll be back."

27 Apr 24'

Lindsay reviewed: Knife making in the bladesmith's forge

"This was one of the best things I've ever done! Spent a day heating, hammering, grinding and finishing a lump of steel into a workable forest knife. Excellent tutors. Have already booked another course with them!"

31 Jan 24'

Jonathan Salter reviewed: Forging for fun! 5 hours at the Blacksmith's forge

"Excellent day. Josh was very supportive. "

8 Jan 24'

Kiara reviewed: Couples blacksmithing experience: three hours in the forge

"I booked the Couples Blacksmithing course for my partner and I for Christmas. The booking process was super easy and the actual experience was even more stress-free than I could have imagined. The demonstrations were easy to follow, there was a lot of support and freedom available and the staff were so helpful! I had a lovely chat with John, Joe and Olaf who were all super interesting to speak with and all showed us different tricks and tips on how to make the best knives. Our session ran over past their closing time but the whole team stayed and helped us, determined for us not to leave until our knives were perfect! "

25 Feb 23'

Lucy Elliott reviewed: Dagger making for two in the blacksmith's forge

"An excellent fully hands on experience with professional and charismatic professional craftsmen and women . Especially the amazing Aaron Would recommend to everyone "

19 Jan 23'

Miltos reviewed: Couples blacksmithing experience: three hours in the forge

"Unique experience! Definitely worth trying! Be prepared for physically demanding hammering!"

16 Jan 23'

Victoria reviewed: Blacksmithing Taster Experience

"A birthday gift for my 10 year old. He did the 3 hour experience ( 2nd year in a row) and once again loved it. The team are brilliant and what he made was amazing. It is a loud environment ( to be expected when lots of people are hitting metal with hammers) but felt safe and well organised. This will be on the wish list for future gifts. "

14 Nov 22'

Dan, Rob, Jack and Emily reviewed: Sword making for two - two days in the forge

"We attended a Forging Day at the Old Forge and were met by enthusiastic instructors who taught us how to make a Gladius. Having never been to a forging day before, we were surprised to find how relaxed and welcoming the environment was and to meet instructors who were as excited to make a Gladius as we were. Our main instructor was Joe who despite having multiple demands for his attention always made time to help us along with the forging process. Joe's patience with complete novices and willingness to go the extra mile for us made the day a complete joy and the resulting sword is something that we hope he can share pride in. We will definitely return and would whole heartedly recommend the experience to anyone who is interested."

23 Apr 22'

Rey reviewed: Forging for fun! 5 hours at the Blacksmith's forge

"First time ever doing forging and I absolutely loved it, enjoyed learning the process and different techniques about the craft. Will definitely be doing this again and hopefully continuing this craft in the future. Many thanks to the team for the guidance and the pleasure to be there working with them."

1 Feb 22'

Mark Crowther reviewed: Dagger making for two in the blacksmith's forge

"A great day's course making a dagger that came out far better than my son and I expected! The workshop/school was well equipped and everything had been made ready (forge fired up, tools on hand, metal cut) for us to start working straight away, after the Health & Safety briefing. With not a moment wasted, our instructor, Will, introduced himself and ran through the basics of what we were to do. He showed us the techniques and approaches, found the best tools for us to use and left us to it at each stage - though he was always on hand in case we needed a bit if help or guidance to make sure things stayed on track. The overall design of the dagger was left up to us and we worked on the metal through the day (with a great lunch delivered by the Garway Moon Inn). Once the metalwork was done we were then shown how to clean the metal up with an angel grinder, how to make the handle on the lathe (with some creative suggestions from Will again) and then some final touches by Will to drill and tap the tang to get the pommel on. Overall, a great experience that will be a fond memory for my teen son and I for years to come. Can't fault the experience in any way. Great place, great atmosphere and incredible value for money. We were blessed to have Will as our instructor, he really knows his crafting and how to give just the right amount of support that adds to the experience. I suspect we'll be going back in the near future!"

27 Nov 21'

Tim Sunderland reviewed: Knife making in the bladesmith's forge

"A brilliant day with incredible tutors/instructors. A great set up and i ended the day with a great knife for my outdoor kitchen. I would highly recommend this experience."

11 Oct 20'

Caecilia Levraut reviewed: Knife making in the bladesmith's forge

"I booked myself in for a "Just for Fun" day and "Forging a Knife" the next day. It was purely, simply brilliant. I had the time of my life, left with a herb chopper (never used one before, but that's about to change!) and a Gladius, and I couldn't be happier. The team was exceptional, all of them: Ben, Theo, Joe, Bobby, Aaron, and last but not least Henry, are clearly passionate about their job - and about quite a few other subjects too, which makes for great conversations while the steel's heating. They're happy to help and answer any questions, and are really working as a team to make sure that your object turns out good, but without taking away the feeling that whatever it is you've decided to forge, it is your own work. They show you how it works and explain the process, and then it's your turn! There is a great variety of objects you can choose to make, even with the knives (wasn't expecting the gladius to be a possibilty, but I am glad it is!). Loved it, will definitely try to come back to extend my new collection, and will recommend to any and all (already have, in fact, to a couple I am met just the day after - I hope they were able to get a booking!)"

11 Oct 20'

Caecilia Levraut reviewed: Forging for fun! 5 hours at the Blacksmith's forge

1 Oct 20'

Ben reviewed: Forge your own axe head in the blacksmith's forge (full day)

"Brilliant course, lots of smiths available for help, axe will hang proudly in my workshop ready for use. I forged the axe yesterday and am really feeling it today, you will be swinging heavy hammers for most of the day so be aware to warm up your muscles beforehand, these guys are strong as ox’s and will make it look very easy. Recommend going for a smaller axe head which will be easier to forge as the larger heads need a larger piece of steel and therefore more forging and more heavy hammer blows. A fantastic course and a great experience! Highly recommended"

28 Jan 18'

Natasha reviewed: Couples blacksmithing experience: three hours in the forge

"We had a fabulous day at the Forge! We both made very different types of knives and had a lot of fun doing so. The instructors are great at explaining and demonstrating what to do. They also gave me courage to play, because even when I got it wrong, they always had a way to fix the problem. The lunch was tasty and much appreciated after a morning of hard work - and was very generous! We had so much fun we want to try to make our own forge at home! But want to go back to Oldfield Forge to learn more. Highly recommend this experience!"