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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Grinding a forged blade
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Featured Courses

Fri 26-06-2020 7:00 pm - Sun 28-06-2020 6:00 pm

Weekend introduction to making a slip joint folder. Covering design grinding, spring mechanisms, heat treating and sharpening of two folding knives.

Fri 21-08-2020 6:00 pm - Sun 23-08-2020 5:00 pm

To see a strung bow bent is to see a once dead thing come to life. In this comprehensive weekend long workshop you will fashion a longbow of sustainable Australian hardwood and beautiful bamboo, custom crafted to your own specifications. You will learn the theory, science and art of turning dead timber into dynamic and fearsome longbows. You will also learn how to craft bowstrings, and if you don't already know - be introduced to the rewarding pursuit of shooting a longbow. You may also get the chance to craft some archer's accessories to enhance your archery experience.

Fri 28-08-2020 7:00 pm - Sun 30-08-2020 6:00 pm

Weekend introduction to making a slip joint folder. Covering design grinding, spring mechanisms, heat treating and sharpening of two folding knives.

Tue 29-09-2020 9:00 am -4:30 pm

One day introduction to Blacksmithing for younger people. This challenging class is for 12 - 16 year olds. Experience the excitement of moving hot metal with hammers and other tools. A great way to get started on your blacksmithing journey.

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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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