2 Day Knife Making £250
Please contact us for dates as we can be very flexible about these.
I would be very surprised to hear someone dispute that the knife isn’t one of the most important tools used in bushcraft, many would even say if they had to pick one tool to take with them into the wilderness it would be a knife. Understanding this from a young age, I became fascinated by the knife and wanted to know how to make one myself. Personally I feel that in bushcraft we should be able to make as much of our own kit as possible.
The first knife I ever made was with my step-dad when I was about 13 out of some scrap steel we found, it looked okay and was a good start but neither of us really knew what we were doing. Luckily for me the bushcraft instructor that had taken me under his wing at the time, was also an engineer, had made many knives and was keen to pass the skill onto me. Handing me a piece of 01 carbon steel, he put me to work with detailed instructions on what materials to use, why and how to shape the knife, what sort of edge (bevel) to put on it, and finally the hardening and tempering. Finally I learnt some new leather working skills to add to the ones I already had.
Looking back the first knives I made were a bit funny looking in design but in principle everything that needed to be there was there, sadly I didn’t save any of these early knives as I normally give what I have made to friends starting out in bushcraft who have a lack of kit or spare cash, but every now and then an old friend will show me a knife I don’t even remember giving them as a mid to late teenager. I’m often not happy with the quality of those early knives but my friends hold them dearly as I do the bits of kit I was given by those ahead of me in bushcraft when I was starting out.
With 18 years practice and developing and reaching a high standard of knife making Bowyer Bushcraft are now pleased to offer a 2 day indoor knife making course. The course will teach you everything you will need to know to get started in knife making. This class will be led by head instructor Jamie Carle and you will learn the following within an indoor workshop/classroom.
Course content
- Knife design for bushcraft
- Steel selection and why?
- Leather working
- Hardening
- Tempering
- Basic wood working
- Sanding and polishing techniques
