Bridgetown Forge offers a variety of classes, for both a novice and the experienced smith: forging Japanese-style knives, tool-making, tong-making, and basic smithing. Heat-treatment, steel selection, and metallurgy are also extensively covered. Hofi’s ergonomic forging method, which allows for fast, accurate forging with reduced effort, is taught throughout, and the emphasis is on practical, straightforward, and effective shaping of steel. Our shop is well-equipped with multiple forging hammers, extensive grinding and polishing setup, gas and coke forges, and an individual forging station for every student. Nine students can be fully accommodated in any class.
New classes are being developed on a continuous basis, and classes to be offered in near future include: power hammer work, forging a cleaver, forging a sushi knife, hammer-making, and axe-making. The goal is to offer a complete curriculum covering the many different skills of a blacksmith.
Saturday and Sunday 9:30 am – 4:30 pm A knife is perhaps the most basic, elemental tool, and a good chef’s knife will make a big difference in the kitchen. Forged properly from a good carbon steel and ground and honed to a razor edge, the Japanese-style blade will give many years of reliable, versatile […]
Saturday-Sunday 9:30 am - 4:30 pm NATA A nata is a traditional multi-purpose hatchet; many regional and task-specific versions are still being made in Japan. We will make a version I find particularly useful; it utilizes a square blade and a slightly tilted handle for good balance and cutting angle. The blade will be forged […]
Saturday and Sunday 9:30 am – 4:30 pm In this class, we will forge an 8-inch blade cleaver out of a bar of high-carbon steel, stamp it with your initials, harden and temper it to have a tough back and a hard, durable edge, attach a hickory handle to it and hone it to razor […]
Saturday and Sunday 8:30 am – 3:30 pm The traditional Japanese sushi knife is constructed of two layers of steel — a soft, low-carbon body fused to a very hard, high carbon cutting edge. The result is a blade of truly awesome sharpness, as the soft body allows the cutting edge to be much harder […]
Saturday 8:30 am – 3:30 pm In this class, we will forge a Japanese carpenter’s hammer, a very handsome and handy implement, found in the toolbox of every carpenter in Japan. Deceptively simple in shape, it is properly balanced and weighted, which makes it suitable for many tasks, such as driving chisels, hammering in nails, […]
Sunday 8:30 am – 3:30 pm in this class, we will forge various spoons out of a stainless steel bar, creating unique, beautiful and useful kitchen tools. We will employ both hand hammers and a pneumatic power hammer, allowing for a very varied and productive experience. This is a fun class, which also imparts a […]
Saturday and Sunday 8:30 am – 3:30 pm A knife is perhaps the most basic, elemental tool, and a good chef’s knife will make a big difference in the kitchen. Forged properly from a good carbon steel and ground and honed to a razor edge, the Japanese-style blade will give many years of reliable, versatile […]
Saturday-Sunday 9:30 am - 4:30 pm In this class, we will forge a double-edged sword, using a combination of hand-hammering, striking with a sledgehammer, and pneumatic power hammer work. In spite of having been apprenticed to a sword maker in Japan, I have long resisted offering a sword class. However, I confess that as a […]
Saturday and Sunday 9:30 am – 4:30 pm In this class, we will forge an 8-inch blade cleaver out of a bar of high-carbon steel, stamp it with your initials, harden and temper it to have a tough back and a hard, durable edge, attach a hickory handle to it and hone it to razor […]
Saturday-Sunday 9:30 am - 4:30 pm NATA A nata is a traditional multi-purpose hatchet; many regional and task-specific versions are still being made in Japan. We will make a version I find particularly useful; it utilizes a square blade and a slightly tilted handle for good balance and cutting angle. The blade will be forged […]
Saturday and Sunday 9:30 am – 4:30 pm In this class, we will forge an axe out of a square bar of high-carbon steel, stamp it with your initials, harden and temper it and grind and polish it to a razor edge. It will become your go-to axe to swing whenever chopping wood becomes necessary. […]