Blacksmithing Basic Intensive & Basic Axe Making -

Spend a Weekend at the forge with a Blacksmithing Basic class on Saturday, and a Basic Axe making class on Sunday.
This is a Group class, up to 6 people - Cost $480.00 per person, all materials included.

Blacksmithing Basic Class – Saturday
Description of class -
This is a class designed to give the student an experience in the craft of blacksmithing.
No experience is required to take this class.
In this class students will be learning the fundamental skills of blacksmithing, including how to work safely and efficiently, with an emphasis on hammer control and body mechanics.
The student will learn appropriate use of the various parts of the anvil, the use of top and bottom tools, drawing and tapering, punching/drifting holes.

Students will complete 2 projects in this day of the class, a series of hooks and finally, a bottle opener.

Start time is 10am (no matter the date). Class time frame 4 to 6 hours.
There will be a 1-hour break for lunch.

Basic Axe Making Class – Sunday
Description of class -
In this class students learn the wrapped eye technique to make a tomahawk/camp axe.
This class will cover an array of different construction methods historically used and the tooling needed to make them.
The student will also be introduced to the skills of proper heat treatment.

Process of construction -
Students will forge a pre-form then wrap and forge-weld the pre-form before forging the axe to shape.
The axe will then be prepared for heat treatment, hardened, tempered then taken to the grinder to make the final edge bevel, then the handle will be attached.

Student will complete an axe head with a tomahawk style handle.

Start time is 10am (no matter the date). Class time frame 6 to 8 hours.
There will be a 1-hour break for lunch.

Instructor - Derick Kemper (both days)
Location - Damselfly Forge Inc. Located in Whiteford, MD. The location is just over the line into MD.
You will be contacted within two days of your class date with info to know, including the address for the shop.

Age restrictions -
For safety reasons we cannot accept students under 13 years of age.
If a student is under 18 years of age, we encourage the guardian to take the class alongside them.
If a student is under 18 years of age a guardian must be present for the entirety of the class.

Refund/Re-schedule Policy – Please Read Before Purchasing Your Class
Class purchases are Non-refundable for any cash amount.
If you should need to re-schedule your class due to illness or emergency, you will need to communicate with Derick Kemper via phone call (any time of day or night) at 410-937-4244 in order for us to be able to re-schedule your class for you. Please leave a voicemail if he is unable to pick up at the time.
We are unable to re-schedule your class for you if you text or email to initiate this request.
If you do not show up for your class without communication via phone call, your purchase of the class will not be refunded or re-scheduled. If you would like to book another class with us you will need to re-purchase, and we will be happy to have you.
Damselfly Forge Inc. reserves the right to cancel a class at any time, if this should occur, we will make every attempt to re-schedule with each student. If you are unable to re-schedule with us, we will issue a full refund of your class purchase price.

What we will provide –

Safety glasses
Ear plugs
Water
Restroom

What to bring/wear –

Your own safety glasses and ear plugs if you wish. We will provide these, but we know some people like to bring their own.

Wear closed toe shoes.
Wear natural fiber clothing.

Bring your own lunch. We ask that you please plan ahead for this. With there only being an hour for lunch during the class it makes it difficult to ensure everyone can leave and order food in that time frame and have enough time to properly eat. We ask that there not be any disruptions to the class by stepping out to call and order food ahead of time.

Our only suggestion for local food prior to the start time of the class is the local grocery store, Saubels in Whiteford, MD which opens at 8am and would give you enough time to gather your necessities.

For emergency food necessities there is the local grocery store (mentioned above) within 5 minutes of the shop.

Other food options we can suggest for after the class -

Our favorite brewery is South County Brewing Co. located in Fawn Grove, PA, 7 minutes form the shop.
They have food trucks on the weekends, subject to change.
If you are interested do check them out online before going, they post the food truck lineup on their Instagram page every weekend.

There is another local brewery called Slate Farm Brewery located in Whiteford, MD, 5 minutes from the shop.
They have a full-service kitchen and it's a great stop for a burger.

Buon Gusto Pizzeria & Grill located in Whiteford, MD is a good, locally owned Italian pizza place, order at the counter and have a seat. Also, within 5 minutes from the shop.

We look forward to having you at the shop!