Forged Axes and Hawks
with
Benton Frisse
Course runs: April 17-21
Tuition: $600
Material fee: $75
Skill level: Intermediate and up, must have solid forging skills in all areas !!
FULL as of 3/20, click ENROLL NOW to join the waitlist
Welcome to the week-long axe intensive! During this class, students will forge 3 common constructions of axes, along with some of the tools needed for each.
Day 1 will be a simple symmetrical wrapped North American style tomahawk, from forging to heat-treat. On day two we will forge the drift needed for the remainder of the class. Day three will be your traditional pre-industrial revolution folded eye axe. Day 4 students will forge a punch and drifted eye axe. Finally, the 5th day will be handling and final finish of all three axes.
This will be an intermediate to advanced class utilizing forge welding, filtering, punch and drift, and strenuous hand hammer time. Each student will leave the class with 3 heat treated, sharpened, and handled axes.
Benton has been forging knives, tools, and axes since 2012. Growing up in his step-dad's (Wayne) blacksmith shop, Benton decided to start pursuing blacksmithing in college and has never looked back. Benton has attended classes at John C. Campbell Folk School and New England School of Metalwork and is the recipient of the 2017 David Knowlton Bladesmithing Scholarship. You can also find Benton on season 6, episode 27 of History Channel's "Forged in Fire" which he made to the final round of competition. In 2019, Benton founded River City Forge & Tool with his step-dad, Wayne, to focus on forging axe patterns from all over the world.