• Coffin Handled Bowie Knife

    Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY, United States

    The Bowie Knife conjures thoughts of legend and history. In this class students will create their own version of this iconic American knife. Students will begin by forging the blades to shape from high carbon steel bar stock, followed by grinding and heat treating the blade. Once the blades are finished the class will turn to the handles fabricating a guard, bolster and wood handle for their knives.
    This class will focus on several key techniques in knifemaking: fitting a guard, as well as shaping and designing hidden tang wooden handles.

  • Walking Stick with Inlaid Compass

    Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY, United States

    Take your next hike or walk around the corner with a unique hand-crafted walking stick. Frank will guide you through the process of taking a piece of ironwood and transforming it into a walking stick that will last a lifetime. The inlaid compass will help ensure you don't lose your way on the trail! Makes a wonderful gift for the hikers in your life!

  • A Taste of the Forge

    Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY, United States

    Would you like to try blacksmithing, and get a taste of the craft? Join instructor Steve Gurzler for 3 weekday evenings to learn how to operate a coal forge to bring metal to incandescent heat and shape it with hammer in hand. This class will use the Artist Blacksmiths Association of North America (ABANA) curriculum to teach the basics of blacksmithing. Students can expect to create 2 or more projects during the 3 evenings. Class size is limited to ensure all can advance at their own pace.

  • Open Forge Night

    Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY, United States

    Interested in blacksmithing but unsure how to start? Open Forge Night is the place for you! Every third Wednesday of the month during our blacksmithing season, come see demonstrations by expert blacksmith Steve Gurzler. Observing the demonstration is free and open to the public. If you want to try your hand at blacksmithing there is a $20 fee to cover the cost of materials. Safety precautions must be followed - including hard shoes with no open toes, long pants, goggles (supplied) and gloves (supplied).

  • Complete Basic Blacksmithing

    Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY, United States

    This basic class will give you the foundation needed to start out on your journey of blacksmithing. You'll learn fire management, hammering methods, drawing out, upsetting, cutting, splitting, twisting, and convenience bending along with a demo of forge welding. Make punches and chisels and learn to harden and temper them. Heating material and heat management will be taught and much more.

  • Fermented Foods

    Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY, United States

    The process of lactic-acid fermentation increases vitamins, enzymes and beneficial bacteria naturally present in good whole, fermented and culturally traditional foods. Roberta is hoping to inspire you to include all of this in all diets as a way to introduce healthier options for optimal digestive functioning. In this good for your gut class, you will learn how to make kombucha, kefir, sourdough starter (for bread baking), cultured butter and sauerkraut.

  • Complete Basic Blacksmithing

    Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY, United States

    This basic class will give you the foundation needed to start out on your journey of blacksmithing. You'll learn fire management, hammering methods, drawing out, upsetting, cutting, splitting, twisting, and convenience bending along with a demo of forge welding. Make punches and chisels and learn to harden and temper them. Heating material and heat management will be taught and much more.

  • Hiking Stick

    Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY, United States

    Learn how to make your very own personal hiking stick. Begin by selecting the perfect stick collected by the instructor. Then you will learn how to shave and carve your hiking stick. Once you are happy with your creation, the sticks will be completed by drilling a hole in them and adding a lanyard. Once finished, put your stick to good use on the trail running right by our school!

  • Complete Basic Blacksmithing

    Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY, United States

    This basic class will give you the foundation needed to start out on your journey of blacksmithing. You'll learn fire management, hammering methods, drawing out, upsetting, cutting, splitting, twisting, and convenience bending along with a demo of forge welding. Make punches and chisels and learn to harden and temper them. Heating material and heat management will be taught and much more.

  • Build a Rustic Birdhouse

    Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY, United States

    Anyone can learn to make a rustic birdhouse in just a few hours. A birdhouse is a simple structure with seven basic parts: two sides, a front and back, a bottom, and two pieces for the top. Power tools are not necessary to cut the wood; it can be done with a handsaw. Using rough-cut lumber, you will construct a rustic birdhouse that can be functional and/or decorative. Choose from several birdhouse designs. There will be a short discussion about nesting birds, feeding birds and suitable houses for area birds. Participants are encouraged to bring objects (such as old drawer pulls, doorknobs, hardware, etc.) from home. Adults and teens welcome; children ages 10-14 must be accompanied by an adult.

  • Complete Basic Blacksmithing

    Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY, United States

    This basic class will give you the foundation needed to start out on your journey of blacksmithing. You'll learn fire management, hammering methods, drawing out, upsetting, cutting, splitting, twisting, and convenience bending along with a demo of forge welding. Make punches and chisels and learn to harden and temper them. Heating material and heat management will be taught and much more.

  • Copper Bowl

    Adirondack Folk School 51 Main St., Lake Luzerne, NY, United States

    In this class students will create a beautiful copper bowl from a 12" x 12" sheet of 16 gauge copper. Students will pound and hand tool the sheet into an 8" diameter, approx. 2" deep bowl. Students will also make a decorative vine with leaves from copper that will be attached to the rim of the bowl. Some soldering will be involved in this class.