April 26 - May 2
April 26, 2026
My favorite thing about teaching classes at the forge is the variety of people, ideas, and observations that come through the door. This morning was a wonderful class with Nicole and her friend Christina. It was their first time in the forge. They made Railroad spike knives, with a twist. They both wanted to add meteor dust that they brought to them. So we forge welded some to the blade as they were shaping them. None of us were sure how much is actually in the blade still, but the essence of the meteor is there.
We were talking while waiting for the knives to cool, and I was telling them about the history if blacksmithing in Downtown Kalamazoo and specifically the 2 block radius around Park Trades Center. And how the forge has always felt like a refuge, where the outside world disappears. Christina said there aren't many places in the world where you walk in and your DNA remembers. We all took a pause. It was an amazing observation! And it's very true. The fire, the coal, shaping steel with just a hammer, and yes, the long history of the building and the city, and knowing, in the forge, we are honoring the past while carrying it into the future.
Nicole and Christina made beautiful knives today, but they made me appreciate and love my little spot in Kalamazoo even more than I already do.
April 26, 2026
This was a fun class with Christian! There's very talented blacksmith called AnvilAnna who makes spurs (among other things), and I've watched her videos on social media. Well Christian has too, and wanted to try to make spurs from rasps he had leftover from his last class. Always fun to try something new! We got the basic shape, and will make and add the rowel next time.
April 28, 2026
Fun morning with Dan, making his first railroad spike knife and talking about all sorts of maker hobbies!
April 28, 2026
Gussy's back! Last time, they made a Railroad Spike Knife. Today they learned some new skills by making Steel Flowers with their mother. They both did great! And more projects were planned.
April 30, 2026
Janice and Donald were given a Railroad Spike Knifemaking class as a gift from their son. Janice made a beautiful and super sharp knife, while Donald made a fantastic dagger! Fun class with them!
April 30, 2026
Jamil and Patrick were in the forge for the first time today! They both made fantastic Railroad Spike Knives!
May 2, 2026
Zane is back in the forge and brought his brothers and father, including a brother who came up from Arkansas for the class! They spent the day making Billet Knives. The types of blades were different, but they all did a seriously fantastic job! And it was lots of fun!
May 2, 2026
Fun birthday class with this group from Ann Arbor! They to the forge to celebrate a 16th birthday!
