Purgatory Ironworks
Blacksmith Classes
Classes at Purgatory are back!! All classes are currently two days in length, broken down into 8 hours on Saturday and 4 hours on Sunday. Students will arrive Friday evening and pack out Sunday afternoon. Classes will be booked a la carte and can be accommodated on weekdays or weekends with no change in price. The class must have at least four students with a maximum of 8. If you do not have the full number of people, we will put the word out and try and find some forge buddies to make it a go!
Classes can be booked directly through Trent or Kenna by contacting (229) 591-4381 or emailing purgatoryiron@gmail.com – waiver signature and 50% deposit due upon booking.
Intro Classes
Our introductory classes are designed to get you familiar with blacksmithing, the tools required and some hands-on experience in the forge.
Intro to Blacksmithing
This beginner course is study intensive but designed to give the student a broad view of the craft. Covered topics include: personal protective gear, basic tooling, solid fuel forges, fire maintenance, basic metallurgy, plasticine clay and hammer techniques. Students will spend class days alternating between lectures and then practical application of the lesson. By the end of the class, students should be capable of maintaining a solid fuel forge and make several small hardware items.
Intro to Knifemaking
This class is more straight forward than the blacksmith introduction in that it “teaches to the test”. Students will receive a basic education in forge and fire use but the focus is directed to the making of the blade. Basic metallurgy will be the point of the day as students will learn how to select steel, forging a blade, and then how to harden and temper. Sheath making will also be touched up. Participants will walk away with a basic self handled knife by the end of the course, properly hardened and tempered.
Project Classes
Our project classes focus on specific items and workshop time, as well as some traditional craft and primitive skill focus! If you have a bit of backyard skill and want to try your hand at something a little more complex, these are for you.
Small Axe Making
This class for intermediate and advanced students will focus on the one piece axe head. Though other forms of axes will be covered and explained, students will take 1 inch high carbon steel and learn the process of slitting and drifting. Students will also get their first taste of the power hammer in this course.
Home Hardware
This class walks you through several different pieces of home hardware that you can proudly display. Copper candle handlers, nail-in-the-wall hooks, light hinges and a simple fire poker are all on the docket for this introduction to basic iron for the household.
Boar Spear
Want to learn to make your own spear to hunt feral pigs with? This is the class for you! This class teaches you how to use high carbon spring steel to make a “taggled spear” capable of dispatching the monstrous hogs that plague the Southeast. Practical and awesome, your passing grade is not getting eaten by the pig.
Campfire Cooking
Learn to make the basics on an open fire! Dutch oven biscuits, griddle bacon and eggs, rotisserie pork loin and apple cobblers are all included in this weekend session. Explore how to use raw wood and charcoal to manage the perfect cooking fire, plus all the iron tools of the trade that make life easy for the frontier cook!
Traditional Broom Making
Use real broom corn to make your own hand braided sweepers. Over the course of the weekend, you will learn how to make basic pot scrubbers, whisk brooms, the “witches broom” and finally the famous turkey wing broom. Students will be trained on how to use treadles and advanced braiding techniques to make fine examples of this Appalachian craft.
Cost
Cost is $400 + food per person with a minimum of 4 people per class. Please visit our Accommodations and House Rules. Waiver signature required and 50% deposit due upon booking.