Forge Your Own Kitchen Knife - Blacksmithing Workshop

Jacek Robótka is running a one-day blacksmithing workshop at 35 Middleton Park Crescent, Middleton, Leeds, LS10 4BW on Friday 5 February 2027. It's a full day, 9 am to 5 pm, and you'll spend it forging your own kitchen knife from raw carbon steel. The design is Viking-style, so it blends a historical shape with something you can actually use in your kitchen.

Robótka is the blacksmith behind Jorgen Craft, and the day covers the whole process. You'll start with blade forging, then move into heat treatment—normalising, hardening and tempering—before finishing with grinding, fitting the handle, sharpening and stropping. Forge safety is worked in throughout, and you don't need any previous experience to take part. You leave with a razor-sharp, handcrafted knife you made yourself.

Robótka's own background is part of the appeal. He started with a curiosity about metal and fire that grew into a lifelong passion, and over the years he's made swords, spears, knives and decorative pieces using traditional methods. These days he runs workshops focused on the experience of the forge and the rhythm of the hammer. A 2026 review praised his passion and the military-history tidbits he drops throughout the day, so it's as much about the stories as it is about the steel.

The workshop runs from 9 am to 5 pm, eight hours in total, and costs £260.