Two mornings at the bench: what actually happens in our knife making class in Montana

The coffee's on at 8. There's a shop tour first, then a safety talk, and then four people who may never have touched a grinder pick the knife they're going to make. By noon the next day, each of them walks out with it.

That's our knife making class in Montana, and it's spent with our family. Three generations of us make knives in this shop. For two mornings, you work beside us and learn the same techniques, processes and attention to detail we use every day.

The point isn't just to leave with a knife. It's to understand what makes a great knife, and what goes into making one.

Built around whoever walks in

This is supposed to be fun, and we build each class around the people in it.

We've had families, kids, and a birthday. We pay attention to who's in front of us and how much of the work they want to do. Sometimes mom mostly wants to take pictures and be with her family, so we help her through more of her knife. A 12 or 14 year old next to her usually wants to do every step himself, so we let him.

When the group's right for it, there's a whiskey bar and a cigar bar too. We take the machines seriously, and we take a good pour seriously, just not at the same time.

Why it's two mornings, not one long day

Both mornings run from 8 to noon, on back-to-back days. We could cram the class into one day, but the steel won't let us.

Heat treating and tempering take several hours. The blade you shape on day one has to go through that overnight before it's ready for a handle. So you come back the next morning to a blade that's been hardened, and the second half of the work starts there.

Day one: from a pattern to a profiled blade

After introductions, coffee and the shop tour, we start with safety. Every machine in this shop deserves respect, and nobody runs one without our go-ahead.

Then we get into the knife itself: its anatomy, how to choose a steel, and the basics of knife geometry. If you want to read ahead, our guide to knife steels and why blade thickness matters cover a lot of the same ground.

Next you choose your design, transfer the pattern to the steel, and profile the blade. We teach you the fundamentals of grinding, and by the end of the morning your blade is ready for heat treatment.

Overnight: what happens to the steel

While you're gone, the blade goes through heat treatment and tempering. This is the part of a knife you can't see, and it decides a lot about how the knife will hold up. In the morning, we walk you through what happened to it.

Day two: handle, finish and a sharp edge

Day two is where it starts to look like your knife. You finish the surface, fit and assemble the handle, then shape and contour it until it sits right in your hand. After the final finish, you sharpen it.

Before you leave, we cover how to care for it. That's the same routine we lay out in our knife care guide. Then we take graduation photos, and you go home with a knife you made.

People work at different paces, so the exact schedule can shift. We'd rather teach it right than rush anyone to the finish line.

We teach stock removal, not forging

Here's something worth knowing up front. In this class you shape the blade by grinding a piece of steel down to its profile. That's called stock removal. You won't be hammering hot steel on an anvil.

That's how a great many good knives are made, ours included, and it's what fits into two mornings while still teaching it properly.

What our Montana knife making class includes

Four students per class, for a reasonable price. The current price is always on our knife making class page.

That covers all your materials: the steel, the handle material, the pins and consumables. It also covers the safety equipment, drinks and snacks, and instruction from us the whole way through. You leave with your knife, its heat treated blade and a leather sheath made here in the shop. Here's how to look after that sheath.

As for what to wear, closed-toe boots or sturdy shoes, long pants and comfortable work clothes work best. Avoid loose sleeves, and tie back long hair. We provide safety glasses, hearing protection and a dust mask.

Who it's for

Anyone. You don't need any experience, and most people who come in don't have any.

We run about 20 classes a year, year round. If you're thinking about it as a gift, our gift certificates are good for five years, so there's no rush to book a date before it runs out.

You can see open dates and book on our knife making class page.

Every knife is unique. The small variations are part of handmade work, and they're something to be proud of.