Welcome to Tharwa Valley Forge
Tharwa Valley Forge runs courses every weekend and most days of the week. We provide everyone from novices to experts with the opportunity to experience traditional crafts and to learn new skills.
Bladesmith Karim Haddad established Tharwa Valley Forge in 2003. Karim trained in the early 1990's under Australia's first Master Bladesmith, Thomas Gerner, and has gone on to use his experience as a professional educator to share his knifemaking expertise with many others. Since establishing Tharwa Valley Forge, Karim and his staff have shared the skills necessary to create high quality knives and tools with hundreds of students.
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Featured Courses

Mon 04-06-2018 6:00 pm -10:00 pm
$200

Forming Kydex sheathThis course will show you how to use Kydex to make two basic styles of sheath and makes an excellent add-on for our one or two day knife courses. Kydex is an easy-to-form thermoplastic that molds tightly using minimal equipment and provides excellent protection and retention. Bring two of your favorite knives and walk away with two sheaths and the knowledge of how to make more at home.

Sun 10-06-2018 8:00 am - Mon 11-06-2018 5:00 pm
$850

Two day introduction to engraving metals run by Danae Cresswell. You will cover using hand and air powered tools, sharpening, design, patterning techniques and finishing. You will work on a sampler plate that showcases a number of different styles and techniques. Perfect for those wanting to try it out and see if they want to take it further.

Sun 24-06-2018 8:00 am -5:00 pm
$500

This is an exciting one day course for those who want to experience blacksmithing. Our experts will show you how to hammer hot steel into beautiful and practical objects. Learn about tool usage, working with heat, heat treatment, and create tools and art to take home.

Mon 02-07-2018 8:00 am - Fri 06-07-2018 5:00 pm
$2,500

One week intensive introduction to engraving metals run by Danae Cresswell. You will cover using hand and air powered tools, sharpening, design, patterning techniques and finishing. You will work on a number of pieces of increasing complexity including a small knife.

Custom Courses
Course dates don't suit? Is the course you want booked out? Get a group of friends together and book a course when it suits you. Not only can do any of the courses we offer, you can customise them to learn things that you don't see on our website. Custom courses usually cost the same as our scheduled courses and can be run with as little as two participants. Dates fill fast, so it's better to talk to us now rather than miss out.
Book a Custom Course »
Production Cutlery
As one of the largest production knife makers in Australia, we've worked with a huge range of clients and made a diverse range of wonderful cutlery. Oyster shuckers, machetes, steak knives, combat knives, cleavers, cheese knives, carving swords for roast meat, champagne openers, kitchen knives... you get the idea. We provide our clients with the expertise to develop and manufacture a product that meets both their requirements and their budget.
Create a Product »
Gift Certificates
One of the many cool things about running a Forge is the diverse range of interesting people we meet on our courses. At least a quarter of our bookings are made using Gift Certificates bought as birthday presents, anniversary gifts, rewards for employees, or as memorable surprises. We've seen some really cool and unique ways people have used our Gift Certificates. Check out some of our stories, or get your own Gift Certificate.
Give a Gift Certificate »
Shop Online
Our award winning bladesmiths are some of the best in Australia and hand-forge knives and cutlery every day of the work week, all year round. Some of their creations are available from our online shop with new releases every Friday at 11AM Canberra time. These pieces deliver the highest level of performance and will literally last a lifetime. If you're in Canberra, you are most welcome to drop by and make your purchase in person.
Buy Handmade Knives »

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