Traditional & contemporary craft courses in north Wales
handmade by you in
wernog wood
Hand forged herb chopper or cheese knife
See course details, dates, costs, tutors & stories from students below
In 2024, Gwyl Roche is offering two different blade smithing courses. The first, a single day introductory course, making either a decorative herb chopper or cheese knife as shown on this page.
Or, over two days, you will handcraft a six inch kitchen knife with hidden tang seared into a wooden handle
... click here to read more ...
On either course Gwyl will teach you to forge, anneal, profile and heat treat high carbon steel into your blade. You will carefully grind bevels before sharpening and honing your blade in the final process.
If treated with the respect they deserve, these tools should last you a lifetime, giving you pleasure to use everyday and taking your culinary prowess to another level.
17 February 2024 - Herb chopper or cheese knife
23-24 March 2024 - Kitchen knife
16 August 2024 - Herb chopper or cheese knife
17-18 August 2024 - Kitchen knife
26-27 October 2024 - Kitchen knife
28 October 2024 - Herb chopper or cheese knife
Herb chopper or cheese knife
£195 per person plus £25 materials
Kitchen knife
Join a group of up to 4 students - on published dates
£375 per person plus £25 materials
or
Bespoke course for 2 people - ask for dates
£475 per person plus £25 materials
Tea, coffee and simple lunch included in your course price
We also offer accommodation & evening meals
Click here to see what we offer
This course is aimed at adults, aged 18yrs + and is suitable for beginners to those with experience
Gwyl Roche has been fascinated by traditional methods of knife making for years and the satisfaction of taking simple materials to make a working tool that can be used daily.
Working from a small forge in North Wales, he uses steel specifically suited to kitchen knives and also uses recycled materials to make unique blades designed to be used in the kitchen and for bushcraft...
Gwyl is inspired by Japanese craftsmanship and the styles of their knives. He loves experimenting with traditional techniques and consequently all of his forging is done by hand with no power hammers or hydraulic presses.
Stories from our students
What a lovely place ! I received a warm welcome on arrival, then jumped straight into the knife making course. It was just what I needed, a relaxed and laid back atmosphere with great guidance from Gwyl (The tutor/master knife maker) and foremost a rewarding outcome !
Overall this is a very nice place and I will be coming back for another one of their courses in the future. I know this is a labor of love for Rob and Claire and I hope that they can build on what they have done so far ! Many thanks for the great weekend ! - Stan
I thoroughly enjoyed learning how to make a kitchen knife. And I'm very pleased with what I produced! I've done some green wood working courses at Wernog Wood but this was my first metalwork course. Gwyl, our knife-making teacher, clearly loves what he does; his enthusiasm, knowledge & willingness to teach complete novices was truly uplifting - Jenny
Thank you so much for this weekend, it has genuinely been one of my most enjoyable birthdays. - Jess
A wonderful place offering an amazing range of craft courses. Well organised, a warm welcome and delicious home cooked food. I did a two day kitchen knife making course which was amazing from start to end. - Ian
I made a kitchen knife on the knife making course. Its one of the best things I've done. It was awesome - the results that everyone got were so far beyond what I expected and the people are so nice. - Jon
Upcoming Dates
Join the waiting list or express interest in future courses
N.B. If you cannot see the Book Now section, scroll up to Upcoming Dates
If a course is full, please join the waiting list as we will contact you in case of any cancellation ... it does happen!
or
If you would like to attend a course but can't make it on the available date, you can register interest in future dates.