Cascadia Center For Arts & Crafts – Keeping The Arts Alive On Mt Hood

Blacksmith Week 2024

November 27, 2023 By Editorial Team

Please join us in beautiful Government Camp, Oregon for CCAC Blacksmith Week 2024.

The 2024 event is scheduled for August 14th – 18th.

Demonstrators scheduled are:

Joe Elliott (Bend, Oregon) 8/14 and 8/15
Anton Yakushev (Bend, Oregon) Demos
Mark Manly (Coos Bay, OR) Demos 8/16 – 8/18
Ben Czyhold (Walla Walla, Washington) Public Demonstrations 8/16 and 8/17
CCAC Blacksmiths Darryl Nelson and Joe Vachon will be on hand as well

This event is open to any and all interested in Blacksmithing.

2019 was our last Blacksmith Week event, here are some highlights, we hope you will join us for 2024!

More information will be added as it is confirmed, so please sign up for our newsletter and/or follow us on social media!

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Beginner Bladesmithing – Forging Knives to Shape

July 13, 2022 By Editorial Team

Beginner Bladesmithing – Forging Knives to Shape

Forge your own knife with simple tools with Joe Vachon, the Season 6, Episode 27, Forged in Fire Champion, in this 1 day, hands on course.

In this class we will be exploring the rudimentary hammer techniques used, step by step, to forge a knife blade to shape without a grinder.

You can expect to learn how to forge a point on the end of a bar, flatten your blade to its final thickness, create a counter-bend, forge your bevels, shape an all-steel handle, clean up your work with a file, and sharpen on a stone.

We will be start by using mild steel for a practice knife, then move up to medium, and high carbon steel to help your progression as a novice smith. We will also be discussing and demonstrating what goes into proper heat treating when using high carbon steels and learn about various types of blade geometry and their application.

Note about safety – Wear cotton pants and shirt (synthetics are potentially flammable). Make sure your pants fit over the tops of your closed toe shoes or boots so nothing hot can fall in. Safety glasses and ear plugs are available, or bring your own. Bringing your own leather gloves is a good idea. Bring a water bottle to stay hydrated.

Beginner Blacksmithing I – Decorative Hooks

March 19, 2022 By Editorial Team

Beginner Blacksmithing I – Decorative Hooks

Learn some blacksmithing fundamentals from Joe Vachon, the Season 6, Episode 27, Forged In Fire Champion, in this 1 day, hands on course. Safety, body mechanics, tools, and the working properties of hot steel will be addressed, as well as various techniques, such as: tapering, scrolling, twisting, bending, drilling, punching, hot cutting, flat peening, upsetting and shouldering. Students will start out practicing the basics with the forging of a few decorative hooks for the first half of the class. After lunch, folks are welcome to practice making hooks or create something of their choosing with their new found skill-set, such as (but not limited to) a fire poker, meat turner, bottle opener, letter opener, necklace pendant, or an experimental piece. 45 minute lunch break.

Note about safety – Wear cotton pants and shirt (synthetics are potentially flammable). Make sure your pants fit over the tops of your boots so nothing hot can fall in. Safety glasses and ear plugs are available, or bring your own. Bringing your own leather gloves is a good idea. Bring a water bottle to stay hydrated.

CLICK HERE for tickets

Beginner Blacksmithing II – Fire Tools

March 17, 2022 By Editorial Team

Beginner Blacksmithing II – Fire Tools

Dig deeper into the fundamentals of blacksmithing with Joe Vachon, the Season 6, Episode 27, Forged in Fire Champion, in this 1 day, hands on course. This class is for students who have taken “Beginner Blacksmithing I” or have comparable blacksmithing experience.

In this class we will be working slightly thicker bar stock (3/8’ – 1/2’) to make fire pokers, skewering forks and fireplace tongs while exploring the possibilities of forging decorative and functional steel handles and finials. This will include various types of forging, bending, scrolling, chiseling, punching, riveting, twisting and wrapping depending on what designs you choose from the samples provided, or come up with on your own. 45 minute lunch break.