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What Is The Age Limit for Blacksmith Classes?

Blacksmith Class Age Limits - Brown County Forge

[Updated: April 25, 2022]

At Brown County Forge, we have the following age limits:

  • Beginners Class: Students must be at least 14 years old.
  • Knife Class: Students must be at least 16 years old.

In addition, anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult (parent or guardian).

The parent or guardian is not required to take the class, but must remain on site during it.

Why Not Younger than 14?

I’ve given the age question a lot of thought over the years.

Sadly, I’ve had to turn down a few folks and their kids if they weren’t quite old enough.

Here are the main reasons I keep the minimum age at 14 (for Beginners) and 16 (for Knife Making):

  • From experience, I can be reasonably sure that most 14 year-olds have enough arm strength to safely swing a 2.5-pound hammer for a couple hours.
  • Hand-eye coordination is one of the most important skills involved in blacksmithing. While kids are still growing and especially during adolescence, they often have trouble controlling body movements. Adding fire and extreme heat to that equation can be very risky.
  • Ability to follow instructions. It’s incredibly important in a blacksmith shop to be able to do exactly as the blacksmith says. If you can’t, the risk of injury skyrockets.

The ultimate goal of the minimum age requirement is to keep everyone safe.

There is no way to guarantee that someone younger than 14 can’t meet those requirements or that anyone over 14 can.

There are many adults who struggle with those same three concepts above and I’ve met some younger kids who can handle the responsibilities very well.

As a rule of thumb, 14 is the minimum for the Beginners Class.

Other Blacksmithing Opportunities with Lower Age Limits

If you have a youngster with a deep interest in blacksmithing, I can recommend a few resources for learning more:

  • The Indiana Blacksmithing Association holds regular Saturday meet-ups that younger folks are welcome to attend. There are often opportunities to get behind an anvil and get to work.
  • Conner Prairie has a wide variety of youth-centered activities at their facility in Fishers. Full, hands-on blacksmithing classes may be limited. Classes cost $200+.
  • The DIY Blacksmithing Course is open to all ages and can be taken from the comfort of home.
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Ax Class Photos

Blade smithing classes - Ax Class - Brown County Forge

On May 11, Brown County Forge hosted its 4th Ax Making Class with guest instructor Benton Frisse of River City Forge & Tool. 

Here are some photos from the day in class. 

Blade smithing classes - Brown County Forge

The class involves hours of heavy hammerwork to create a functional, 1.5-pound camp hatchet out of a billet of 4140 tool steel. 

We use a variety of different hammers ranging from 6-pound sledge hammers at the beginning of the process all the way down to 2-pound ball peen hammers to refine the blade edge before air cooling and grinding.

Blade smithing classes - Brown County Forge 2

The basic process goes like this:

  1. Heat the billet to a bright yellow in the forge. Higher carbon steels require higher temperatures to make them easier to work.
  2. Punch your ax eye through a series of heats (upwards of 20).
  3. Spread the eye with progressively larger ax eye drifts.
  4. Fuller (spread) the area just behind the cheeks that surrounds the eye.
  5. Fuller the bit edge from toe to heel adjusting your blows to create your desired beard shape.
  6. Thin the bit to near its final thickness.
  7. Set aside to cool before grinding. This makes it easier to grind.
  8. Grind the bevel and clean up the eye, cheeks, and butt.
  9. Re-light the forge and gradually heat up the bit to just past magnetic. This is important for hardening (one half of the heat treat process).
  10. Quench the bit with slicing motions through vegetable oil in a tub.
  11. Set aside to cool.
  12. Polish the bit so the “silver” comes back out. This will allow you to see the temper colors come through (tempering is the other half of the heat treat).
  13. Temper by dancing the bit in the fire of the forge, checking frequently.
  14. As soon as “straw” color appears, quench in the oil again.
  15. Set aside to cool.
  16. Grind to finish
  17. Head the ax with oak, ash, or hickory handle. Rasp or grinder work will be necessary to get the right fit.

Blade smithing classes - Brown County Forge 3

This photo shows the original 4140 steel billet sandwiched between two student made, finished axes. Fully hung, heat treated, and sharpened. Ready for work. 

Blade smithing classes - Brown County Forge 4

This in-depth class is offered just a few times per year. The students who gain access to the class have taken at least one, and ideally two, classes at Brown County Forge first. 

The reason for this is so that I can get a feel for hammer skills, hand-eye coordination, ability to follow instructions, and physical/mental stamina. 

If you think you might be a good fit for this class, please take a look at our introductory classes here: browncountyforge.com/classes. 

Looking forward to working with you!

-Terran the Blacksmith