Hammer and Tongs: Toolmaking for Blacksmiths with Anna Koplik
Class runs: April 28 – May 2
Tuition: $750
Material Fee: $60
Skill Level: Seasoned Beginner-Intermediate
Heat Source: All Coal Forges
Learn the art of toolmaking and boost your skills and self-sufficiency as a blacksmith! In this workshop students will be guided through making many fundamental tools of the trade. We will cover everything from forging punches, tongs, and hammers to heat treating, grinding, and handling. Leave with your own hand forged tools and the skills to make more on your own. Expect lots of striking with sledgehammers, long days in the shop, and bad puns.
Anna Koplik received her BFA in Jewelry from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY where she discovered her love for metalwork and forging. After graduating she shifted her focus to blacksmithing and began traveling, working at crafts schools and as a journeyman architectural smith, teaching blacksmithing workshops, and going on adventures whenever possible. Her personal work focuses mainly on tool and utensil making, and combining functionality with a refined, delicate aesthetic. Anna has worked at a variety of shops, including Atlas Forge, Caleb Kullman Studio, and Spirit Ironworks, as well as taught at various craft schools such as Penland School of Crafts, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and John C. Campbell Folk School.