Grinding a knife blade at the Iron Gate Knives workshop, Anna Bay

October & November 2026 · Anna Bay

Spend a day on the tools.Take home the knife you made.

Eight hours in our workshop with the makers who build every Iron Gate blade. You grind it, you heat-treat it, you handle it. It goes home with you that afternoon.

Reserve a spot — $700

8am–4pmOne full day
6People per class
$700Everything included
0Experience needed

Reserve your spot

Pick your day

Six seats a class and we are only running four this year. Your spot is confirmed the moment you pay — we will email you everything you need a fortnight out.

Class dates are being finalised. Check back shortly.

How the day runs

Eight hours, start to finish

You are on the tools nearly all of it. We handle the parts that need a trained eye and talk you through everything else.

8:00am

Coffee and the safety run-through

Meet the makers, get your gear on, and pick the blade profile you want to build. We walk you through the machines you will be using and the ones you will not.

8:45am

Profiling and grinding

You start on the belt grinder, taking your blank down to the shape you chose. This is the part everyone thinks will be hard and everyone ends up loving.

11:00am

Heat treat

Into the kiln, then the quench. We run this bit with you — it is the difference between a knife that holds an edge for a decade and one that does not.

12:30pm

Lunch

Proper feed, on us, in the workshop. This is usually when the stories start.

1:15pm

Handles

Pick your timber — Tasmanian blackwood, ringed gidgee, deer antler and a few others on the day. Shape it, pin it, epoxy it, sand it back until it fits your hand.

3:15pm

Sharpen, finish, done

Put a working edge on it, oil the handle, and we knock off with a cold drink and a photo. You walk out with the knife you made.

What $700 covers

Everything except the drive

Your knife

The steel, the timber, the pins, the epoxy, the sheath. You take it home the same day — it is yours.

Lunch and a drink

A proper lunch in the middle of the day, and a cold one at four o’clock when the knife is finished.

All the gear

Apron, glasses, ear protection, gloves and every machine in the shop. Just bring closed shoes.

The makers

Two of us on the floor all day for six people. You are never waiting around for a turn.

◆No experience needed. Most people who walk in have never touched a grinder.
◆Ages 16+. Under 18 needs a parent on site — plenty of father-and-son pairs book together.
◆Wear closed shoes and clothes you do not mind marking up. That is the whole dress code.
◆4236 Nelson Bay Road, Anna Bay NSW. Parking on site, about 40 minutes from Newcastle.

Before you book

Questions we get asked

Do I really take the knife home?

Yes, that afternoon. Finished, sharpened, handled and in a sheath. It is the knife you made, not one we swapped in.

What if I have never done anything like this?

That is most people who book. Six students and two makers means someone is beside you the whole way. The only thing you need is to turn up.

Can I buy it as a gift?

Yes — tick the gift box when you reserve and we will email you a card to print or forward, with the date on it. If the date does not suit them, reply to the email and we will move them.

Why do I pay the full $700 now?

Six seats a class means a no-show costs someone else their spot. Paying in full holds it properly. You can transfer to another date or hand your seat to someone else up to 14 days out.

What can I choose on the day?

Your blade profile from the ones we have blanked for the class, and your handle timber from what is on the rack — usually Tasmanian blackwood, ringed gidgee, deer antler and a couple of others.

Can two of us come together?

Reserve two spots on the same date. Fathers and sons, mates, couples — it works well with someone you know.

$700 per person Full day · you keep the knife

Reserve