Slammers + Tongs: Toolmaking for Blacksmiths
2.25lb Cross Peen Hammer by Anna Koplik, 2024. Steel, hickory.
Learn the art of toolmaking and boost your skills and self-sufficiency as a blacksmith in a welcoming and inclusive environment! In this workshop participants will learn how to make many fundamental tools of the trade. We will cover everything from forging punches, chisels, tongs, and a hammer to heat treating, grinding, and handling. Leave with your own hand-forged tools, the skills to make more on your own, and a greater understanding and appreciation for tools in blacksmithing. Expect lots of striking with sledgehammers, long days in the shop, and silly dance breaks. Prior experience in blacksmithing is recommended; participants should have a basic understanding of how to heat metal in either a coal or gas forge and swing a hand hammer.
Anna Koplik (she/her) received a BFA in Jewelry from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. After graduating, she shifted her focus to blacksmithing and began traveling, working, and teaching at craft schools and as a journeyman architectural smith, going on adventures whenever possible. Her personal work focuses mainly on tool and utensil making, and combining functionality with a refined, delicate aesthetic. Koplik has worked at a variety of shops, including Atlas Forge, Caleb Kullman Studio, and Spirit Ironworks, as well as taught at various craft schools such as Penland, Touchstone, and John C. Campbell.