Experience / Events / Workshop: Forging and Using a Viking Fire Steel

Workshop: Forging and Using a Viking Fire Steel

There is another session of this class on Saturday, June 24 with spots available. 

This class runs at the Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center Friday, June 23 from 9 am-5 pm and at the American Swedish Institute Sunday, June 25 from 9 am-5 pm. The class finishes Sunday afternoon for a gathering with other students from the other weekend classes with Sätergläntan instructors.

Join Johan Säfström, a lead instructor from Sätergläntan Institute for Craft’s blacksmithing program, for a unique class about using and making a fire. Johan travels to us from Dalarna, Sweden, where he teaches in the three-year blacksmithing curriculum. On the first day of class, students will work with Johan in the Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center’s blacksmithing shop to make Viking-era-style fire steel. This project offers novice blacksmithing students the opportunity to practice basic forging processes while reproducing a historic tool. On the second day of class, students will gather at the American Swedish Institute to practice using their fire steels to build and start a fire.

All tools and materials are included in the class fee. Students should wear long sleeves and long pants made of natural materials and wear work boots or shoes. Safety glasses are required in the CAFAC blacksmith shop; bring your own or borrow a pair from the shop. Please bring water, snacks, and lunch. No previous blacksmithing experience is needed. Open to ages 16 and up.

This class is an extraordinary opportunity to work with an instructor from one of Sweden’s premier institutions for handcraft learning. This June, four instructors from the four core programs (hand sewing, weaving, woodworking and blacksmithing) at Sätergläntan will teach across Minneapolis over one weekend. On the final day of class, all classes will gather at ASI, to meet the other instructors and students and share what they have learned. Limited full scholarships are available to cover this class’s tuition with a priority deadline of March 19, 2023; learn more and apply here.