Tharwa Valley Forge in Tharwa, Australian Capital Territory | Art school

Tharwa Valley Forge

Locality: Tharwa, Australian Capital Territory

Phone: +61 418 165 433

Address: 11 Naas Rd 2620 Tharwa, ACT, Australia

Website: https://tharwavalleyforge.com

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25.01.2022 Free Program for Former Defence Force Members We’re proud to announce we’re hosting Asado Fest 2020 - Four days of camping, BBQ, and metalwork for former members of the Australian Defence Force. This free program is made possible by a grant from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the support of The Cuppacumbalong Foundation.... Participants attend Asado Fest in pairs. Each pair is made up of an ex-ADF member and their partner, child, parent, best mate, or someone else who plays a significant part in their life. They’ll make a traditional Argentinian Asado wood fired BBQ and learn how to use it with lessons from a professional chef. They’ll also gain some basic skills in blacksmithing, knifemaking, welding and leatherwork along the way. Each pair attending this program will make and keep: - One Argentinian Asado BBQ - One large metal fire pit - Two large stainless steel brisket knives - Two custom leather BBQ aprons - Two cookbooks, with recipes from the course Asides from taking home what they make, participants will also go home with the knowledge and skills required to pursue a variety of traditional metal and leather crafts at a beginner level. This program will consist of three sessions conducted over the period November 2020 to March 2021. Participants will be drawn from rural and regional NSW and VIC (Covid-19 restrictions permitting). For more information, or to apply now, please visit this link >>> https://cuppacumbalongfoundation.org.au//c/asado-fest-2020

24.01.2022 These old blades are so worn-out that they resemble bow ties! Halcyon, our sculpture instructor, is in the forge today working on some replacement blades for a piece of commercial gardening equipment. She's really taken to bladesmithing and shows a lot of talent - she's already worked on over 100 knives for our commercial clients. Through repetition, Halcyon has gained more experience in two months than many hobbyist bladesmiths do in two years.... She is a very talented sculptor who studied her Bachelor of Fine Arts at The Australian National University. The main focus of her studies was in sculpture, with a particular interest in Bronze casting. She's worked hard to get where she is, and this ethic is demonstrated in her creative output. Halcyon has a huge amount of talent and we're looking forward to sharing her work with you.

24.01.2022 There's some pretty cool footage of Jacko making some mosaic Damascus in this video. Jackson Rumble, one of our instructors, talks to Gameco Artisan Supplies about how he got started making knives and how he has grown into a professional bladesmith.

23.01.2022 Forging some axe head blanks on the power hammer. Brad The Blacksmith is doing some prep for the camp axe class we are teaching this weekend.

22.01.2022 Teen blacksmithing course has been on today. We've already run a few this week for school holidays. They've learnt some basic blacksmithing skills by making campfire cooking equipment, utensils, some keychains, and a few more bits and pieces. Big day where a lot of memories are made.

21.01.2022 New course available! Get the skills to make serious leatherwork projects like bags, hats, purses and more. Learn more: https://tharwavalleyforge.com//211-leatherworking-foundati

20.01.2022 Applications are open for free courses for ex-ADF in rural NSW and VIC! Asado Fest is a four-day program for ex-Australian Defence Force (ADF) members where participants are taught basic skills in wood fired BBQ cooking, blacksmithing, leatherwork, knife-making, and welding. Participants attend this program in pairs, bringing along someone significant in their life to learn the same skills at their side. During this experience, they will camp next to the Murrumbidgee River at... the historic Cuppacumbalong Homestead in Tharwa, ACT. Round One just started today, we'll have some pics up soon. These courses are made possible by The Cuppacumbalong Foundation and a generous grant from The Department of Veterans' Affairs.

20.01.2022 Punches and scribes are a good place to start when you're learning blacksmithing. They allow you to learn a lot about how metal moves, especially if you include some decorative elements alongside the functional ones. Because they're relatively small you get a lot of practice in a short period of time, including with heat treating processes. Adam (Fromholtz knives) is teaching our week-long Blacksmithing Foundations course. These pics are from today, which is Day One of the course.

19.01.2022 No more hammering! We've modded these hand presses to punch stitch holes in leather. We came across a bulk lot of these hand presses. They're used for setting rivets, but we've adapted them for punching stitch holes. Normally you use a hammer with a stitching punch, but that can be tricky for some people. It's also loud.... Doing this mod was pretty simple. We press-fit our hand stitch punches in brass bushings, then turned the outside of the bushings down to fit the punch. That's it.

16.01.2022 Some of the latest work from our instructors. Damascus steel kitchen knives, a cheese knife, and some oyster shuckers. If you like them, some are still available for sale on our website.

13.01.2022 84 Engineering is hiring! If you've got the knifemaking bug this would be an amazing job. Ewan is a great bloke and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Suits applicants in the Cooma region.

13.01.2022 Here's what a blacksmith's custom leather apron looks like. Adam is one of our full-time instructors. He's teaching a Blacksmithing Foundations course this week, and this is what he has loaded in his apron. He bought this apron off the shelf, but he's used his leatherwork skills to customise it over the years.... Want an apron like Adam's? We run custom leather apron courses where you can make your own!

11.01.2022 Karim was on the Blind Insights podcast this week. He spoke with David Olney about handmade knives and what it's like running the largest knifemaking school in the world. You can listen to this episode here: https://omny.fm//blind-insights-forging-creativity-in-kniv

09.01.2022 Work-in-progress for a production client in Sydney. Oyster shuckers, steak knives, and kitchen knives.

06.01.2022 Students are putting the final touches on their Japanese kitchen knives. This group started on Monday night and are finishing up right now. You can see they are finishing the timber handles with Tung oil, then their instructor today, Jackson, is setting the edge and sharpening it. For sharpening, Jackson is using a 100 grit belt, followed by a 400 grit belt, and finishing up on the paper wheel.

06.01.2022 Father's Day gift certificates for blacksmithing, kitchen knife courses, Damascus steel, leatherwork, sculpture, and more! Shop now >>> https://tharwavalleyforge.com//1878-co/category_pathway-52 Buy online, instant electronic delivery. Valid for three years from date of purchase.

05.01.2022 Damascus Kitchen Knifemaking course are forging their own Damascus steel today. They'll use it to make two Damascus Steel Japanese kitchen knives over the following two days.

04.01.2022 The MV Krait Australian Army Stilettos we made for the Australian War Memorial were just featured in the Army Newspaper. Click the first image for the full story. As you can see from the other pics, the Damascus steel came up beautifully. We were lucky enough to be granted access to the War Memorial's collection of WW2 era AAS to make sure we were as accurate as possible - you can see some of these originals in the final pic.

04.01.2022 Here are the Asado BBQs and carving knives our students made last weekend. Everyone made a stainless steel carving knife, a fire pit, and an Asado BBQ cross. Along the way they learned knifemaking by stock removal, as well as some basic metal fabrication skills including MIG welding.

04.01.2022 Father's Day is fast approaching and the garden tools we made for Cuppacumbalong are proving very popular. Only six Gardener's Friends remaining! We designed the Gardener's Friend based on pioneer era tools. It features a short edge with a steep grind for heavy chopping, a crescent edge for cutting tap roots underground (whether for harvesting or weeding), and a long edge with a shallow grind for fine carving and cutting. The timber handle scales are carved from 150 year old ...Blakely’s Red Gum reclaimed from fence posts at Cuppacumbalong Homestead. Blakely’s Red Gum saw prominent use in construction during the pioneer era, and the fence-line from which this timber was reclaimed dates to works conducted at Cuppacumbalong in the 1870’s along the Murrumbidgee river in Tharwa. Free tracked shipping anywhere in Australia, shop online here >>> https://cuppacumbalong.com.au//shop/pr/11-gardeners-friend

04.01.2022 There's never been a better time to get into knifemaking, and these scholarships from Gameco Artisan Supplies are an opportunity for a fantastic head start.

03.01.2022 Cruisy arvo at the top workshop. Adam is teaching Japanese Kitchen Knifemaking, Jackson is making a spoon from Damascus steel, and Ceilidh is working on a Damascus steel kitchen knife handle.

03.01.2022 What do you reckon of this one? This knife and sheath were made by Baz, one of our instructors, as a gift for Vo-Gus Prospecting. Baz had brought this in to the Forge the other day to do some laser engraving. We grabbed some pics to share with you because we thought his work deserved a bit of recognition.

03.01.2022 Here are some knife designs from today's students. Jackson is teaching a group of SES Volunteers how to make Japanese kitchen knives today. They're attending a two-day course thanks to scholarships for first responders from The Cuppacumbalong Foundation. You can learn more about these scholarships, as well as other opportunities from The Cuppacumbalong Foundation, here: https://cuppacumbalongfoundatuon.org.au

03.01.2022 ACT Ambos and SES members are here forging Japanese kitchen knives. They're doing the course for free thanks to First Responder scholarships provided by The Cuppacumbalong Foundation.

03.01.2022 Here's how Jackson, one of our instructors, puts his maker's mark on a Damascus blade. It's a two-step process using electro etching followed by gun blue. First, Jacko uses an electro etching machine from Gelandangan Marking Systems in DC mode to etch his maker's mark and Journeyman Smith stamp. The blue stencil is placed then swabbed with electrolyte. Current is applied through an electrode, which removes material from the blade in under the stencil. After etching, the area ...is cleaned with metho and cut back using 600 grit abrasive paper. Next up is the gun blue, which is a selenium dioxide based product. Jacko gives the area another clean with metho, then swabs on the gun blue with a cotton bud. The reaction takes no time at all. Finally, Jacko cuts the area back again with 600 grit. The end result is a deep etch with a strong black fill and square margins. You can of course use this electro etching machine in an AC mode that marks the metal, but Jacko prefers this method as the end result is much darker. These marking machines are excellent and we highly recommend them. They are available from Gameco Artisan Supplies

02.01.2022 Pics from an Asado BBQ course Baz and Halcyon are teaching this weekend. The students are making fire pits, Asado BBQ crosses, and stainless steel carving knives.