Blacksmith Experience Day - Make a Fire Poker or Toasting fork

FORGING AHEAD: BLACKSMITH EXPERIENCE - B Prothero & Co Blacksmiths offers a Forging Day for beginners.

£175 per participant. 

This course has space for 7 attendees.

This is an exciting beginners day experience, you will make a fire poker or a pronged toasting fork. Your poker or fork will showcase all your newly acquired blacksmithing skills in one useful item to take home. 

The day will start at 9:30 with a friendly welcome at our working forge, on Wayside Farm Estate which is located between Stroud and Cheltenham on The Calf Way in Gloucestershire. You will have your own anvil and tools to work with and space at a gas forge.

During the day you will learn the basics of blacksmithing, using traditional techniques and skills to forge your poker or toasting fork from scratch. An experienced blacksmith instructor will be on hand to demonstrate, help and guide you through the process. At the end of the day you will be able to take home your finished item.

Skills you will learn:

Lighting the forge.
Traditional blacksmithing tools and their uses.
Properties of steel.
Heating the steel.
Forging.
Hammering techniques.
Cutting techniques.
Twisting and shaping the metal.
Polishing as necessary.

 The day course will be structured as follows:

9:30-10
• A warm welcome and offer of tea or coffee.
• You will be given protective equipment to wear. (e.g Goggles, apron, gloves)
• Induction to the workshop and essential safety briefing.
• You will have your own anvil and tools to use for the day. (You will be sharing a forge with another attendee but there is plenty of space for you both to heat your metal at the same time).

10-1
• Lighting the forges.
• Smithing starts.
• Your experienced blacksmith instructor will demonstrate tools and techniques over the course of the day and will be on hand to help and assist where necessary.

11:30-11:45 and / or 2:45-3:00 Optional tea / coffee and cake break if you would like.

1-1:30 Short lunch break (Please bring a packed lunch)

1:30-4pm Smithing and finishing of your forged item.
The day will end at approximately 4pm.

Hot drinks and homemade cake included: You are welcome to help yourself to tea, coffee, biscuits and cake throughout the day.

Full information (including what to wear etc) will sent on booking. Each participant must fill in an information form and sign a waiver.

Please note: We have a toilet in the building, however this toilet will not accommodate a wheelchair in the cubicle. If you have any questions regarding access needs, or medical requirements please contact us (sales@protheroblacksmiths) so we can discuss any concerns before you book.

GIFT VOUCHERS: If you would like to book this course with a gift voucher issued or given to you before July 2026, please contact us directly on the email above as your voucher may not cover the full cost of the course. We will honour all vouchers and cover the full cost of the day.

Unit 20,
Wayside Farm estate,
The Camp,
Stroud,
Gloucestershire,
GL6 7EW

www.protheroblacksmiths.co.uk

Terms and refund agreement:

• Occasionally we may need to change the date of a booked course. We will aim to let attendees know with at least one weeks notice, however there may be an unexpected reason which means the course has to be cancelled at short notice. In all cases, new dates, gift certificates or refunds will be offered. If there is no other date that suits, you have a right to cancel with a full refund.

• If you find you cannot attend your booked course, please let us know at least 7 days in advance to request a date change or ask for a refund.

• If you wish to cancel less than 7 days before the course, you will be offered another course date or the option of a gift certificate. No refunds will be issued after this point.

• Refunds will only be made directly back to the payment details used originally.