Testimonials and reviews of courses at Bearded Pig Forge

A selection of reviews and images from students who have attended courses and experience days at my forge, all of them have been wonderful to teach and I hope have learnt a lot from the day.
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Absolutely loved my knife making course - Spike is so knowledgeable and passionate about blacksmithing and both myself and my husband who came along as a guest learnt so much. It's a great laid back atmosphere and don't worry if you've never made anything out of metal before, Spike is on hand to give you tips and direct you on how to turn a lump of metal into something more interesting! We will be returning to do some of the longer courses soon. Thanks Spike for a great day!
One Day Knife Making Course

I attended the 1-day knife making course as a guest, I bought the experience for my wife for Christmas. As usual, I left things right to the last minute but Spike made sure I received my wife's gift voucher in time.

From the moment we got to the forge Spike made us feel completely at home, his relaxed manner coupled with both his extensive historical and scientific knowledge made the day one of the best experiences I've been to, and I was just spectating!

Furthermore, there will be only one request for my birthday present, a day at Spike's forge!

p.s. he makes an awesome BLT sandwich!
Elliot Manarin

If asked to sum up this course in a single word, I'd have to say: 

I've been on a lot of craft courses over the years, from making Tudor Christmas Decorations to building a Cob Oven, and my day at the Bearded Pig Forge was easily the best to date. 
Bearing in mind I'm a complete novice working with orange-hot metal, heavy hammers, super-sharp blades and a crazy-fast belt sander, Spike (the blacksmith) was immensely calm and patient, only stepping in when I was in danger of losing an eye, ;-) setting fire to myself and the forge or, worse of all, messing up my knife! He explained and demonstrated everything clearly and concisely and answered all of my questions in much the same way. 
Added to that is the fact it was a lovely, sunny day in glorious surroundings and that Spike is great company, it was - in a word - brilliant. 
Next stop: axe-making!
Phin Hall

Great one day knife making course at the Bearded Pig Forge. Spike is a patient and knowledgeable tutor. I'd really recommend this as a course for yourself or a gift. Thanks!
caro hamilton

Was excited about doing something different and it didnt disappoint. Day was excellent and Spike was brilliant, even coping me being left handed. Spike is obviously passionate about his craft and loves to pass his knowledge on. Would recommend this day and looking to book the knife day
Leigh musson

Absolutely loved every minute of the day! Spike was very welcoming, professional and an excellent teacher. Catered for everything throughout the day offered very good teaching tips and cues and allowed me to forge a Viking seax from scratch. Will definitely book to do another days experience loved it that much.
Charlie Clay

An all round fantastic day with spike who is knowlegable and an excellent teacher of this amazing craft.I will be booking another course in the future and would highly recommend that anyone wanting to give this a try look no further than the beardedpig forge
Mike Richardson

Form Start to finish , I can say feel very humbled, an amazing talented Kind man with a wonderful mind , full of interesting and inspiring knowledge. 
This was a great Course to do, and put any worry’s at bay, explaining each stage and why. Was an absolute pleasure working with you today , I would recommend to anyone to give this course a go . Great teacher. As well as Supertalented . Thank you Spike I look forward to the next course adventures , keep going with all what you do.
Sam

Had a great time and learnt so much about the trade, would recommend spike to anyone who is looking for a great day blacksmithing.
William Roach

Fantastic course, brillaint teacher with Spike who is very patient and approachable specially if you haven't done this before, yet doesn't dumb anything down, so you walk away with an all round learning experience. Very pleased with the course.
Thomas Miles

I really enjoyed my knife making day. Spike is very patient and encouraging, a natural teacher. He is also really fun to chat with and has a lot of great knowledge that he is very willing to share which is so valuable. It is obvious that he really loves doing this and wants everyone who visits to love doing it too. The best thing about the course is that it is all your own work, if it goes a bit awry spike just tells you how to fix it, so you can be really proud of your work at the end. Great sandwich too! Would love to go back soon. Thank you very much!
Nicole

Spike is an excellent teacher who also knows lots of little Storys and bits of Information around blacksmithing to fill the waiting time while the steel is heating up. I had a lot of fun and actually already went back for another day.
Highly recommended!
Jannis Stracke

What a great day!
Spike is very knowledgeable and passionate about blacksmithing and it shows in how he talks about what you're doing and why you're doing it. A great learning experience, I highly recommend and am planning on doing more of his courses in the future.
Danny King-Smith

My husband and I did a one day course on Saturday to make a knife each. Spike was fantastic - clearly passionate and a fantastic teacher! We left very happy and very tired. Would definitely recommend for anyone interested in forging.
Alice Milner-Watt

This is a brilliant experience that i would highly recommend to anyone interested in blacksmithing, Spike is a brilliant tutor that explains every step clearly both verbally and practically.
He is a genuinely nice bloke who is knowledgeable in his craft.
I am definitely going to be booking another course with him.
Luke Cross

​I had a one day course and feel very proud of the knife that I made with Spike’s expert tuition. A very enjoyable day which I hope to repeat and would highly recommend. Spike is very knowledgeable and passionate about his craft and very good at sharing this his student in a way that I could understand and apply.
Dale

I had a day course with Spike and decided to bring my own design.
This was a pruning knife with a curved blade.
With Spikes guidance this was completed with time to spare.
All in all a thoroughly enjoyable day, with Spikes easy way and excellent teaching.
Highly recommended
Bob Phillips

What a great day ,directions are clear and easy to follow.Spike made me feel very welcome at his forge and is very easy to talk to.
After a coffee followed by a saftey talk, then started with the knife making,spike is a very good teacher of his craft,and shares his knowledge and skills 
with you, he shows you each process and talks you through each stage and explains why it is done that way .
I started the day unsure if i could achieve what i wanted ,before i knew it the day was over and i am now the proud owner of a great little knife made by myself,all thanks to Spike. I would recommend this course to anyone interested in knife making, hopefully i will be taking another course with him later in the year .
Stephen Lasslett

A really enjoyable and rewarding day with Spike, he was welcoming, informative and great fun. Something i’d been looking forward to and it didn’t disappoint. Looking forward to the next course already.
David Purnell

This course was awesome! Spike was great, helpful, encouraging, knew loads about the craft, the history, and the science of what we were doing. I was so happy with the knife I made, it's so pleasing to hold and feel and know that I made it from a bar of steel. I cannot recommend this course enough on every front! Thanks Spike!
Dan Plane

I had two days with spike making a knife amd i have to say he is an excellent guy wiyh a vast knowledge of the trade. Explained each step along the way and to why it was done that way. 
A very friendly approachable guy making the course very enjoyable.

Would highly recommend spikes courses to anyone thay wants to try blacksmithing anf i will be definitely taking more of his courses.

Keep up the good work and look forward to seeing you again on the nwxt course i take.
chris king

Highly recommend. Spike great teacher loads of knowledge and untold amounts of patience if like me never done anything close to blacksmithing. Any way stop reading my review book your course and find out for your self.\m/
James

Completed a one day blade course. Spike is engaging and clearly enthusiastic about his work. He spent time in discussing all aspects of the work we were doing, from safety aspects, management of the forge and in working the metal itself. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and can’t recommend it highly recommend enough!
Looking forward to going again!?
Nigel East

Just completed 2 days knife making course with Spike. What an absolutely awesome experience. Spike guides at every step of the process, explaining and demonstrating techniques on scrap metal so that your piece is entirely your own work. Spikes teaching style is calm collected and encouraging. He is incredibly knowledgeable about the history of his craft as well as the techniques and skills involved. I felt reassured and gained confidence quickly . And produced a gorgeous Damascus (pre-made pattern welded steel) Kriss Athame dagger. I thought perhaps i was asking too much when i first enquired about making one, however, Spikes tuition meant i was able to achieve everything i wanted in the knife in good time. I highly recommend his course and teaching and i fully expect to be booking again in the future.
Vicky Lockwood

Just completed my second course with Spike. First time made a quiver stand, today have come home with a very splendid knife. I have learnt so much in these three days and wholeheartedly recommend these courses to anyone with an interest in the craft of the blacksmith. Spike has a real passion for his craft and is skilled at sharing his knowledge. Very educational, very enjoyable.
George Hirst

Bearded Pig Forge is tucked away in a lovely spot, which felt ideal as a location to get away to and make something by hand in this method. I did the one day course, making a viking knife and it was an excellent start for someone who has never crafted metal work before.
Spike was a great teacher in every way. Super patient, very clear with directions and ready to help whilst also instilling confidence in us to learn the process through the trials and errors we could afford.
I was delighted with the results and it's brilliant to be able to make a functional knife that I can use in the kitchen daily. I'd highly recommend this course and Spike to anyone! I hope I can go back and learn some more some time!
Tom Joy

I did the one day basic blacksmithing course, coming out of the end of the day with a knife (which when you start the day with a rectangular piece of steel seems a bit daunting!).

Spike is an excellent teacher, explaining and demonstrating each part of the process at a time, and the pace of the day never feels rushed. He's also really patient, helping where needed, but making sure you understand what you are doing. Overall a really, really fun day which I'd recommend to anyone.

We also learned a bit about the history, chemistry and physics of blacksmithing as well. Will definitely be back soon to do some more :-)
​Jon Stokes