Bridgetown Forge
Email: arnon@bridgetownforge.com
Website: www.bridgetownforge.com
Phone: 503-804-1524
Location: 1812 North Columbia Blvd., Portland, OR, 97217
Bridgetown Forge has been established by its owner and operator, Arnon Kartmazov. Arnon has spent 12 years in Japan, where he has apprenticed to a knife -maker, and then a sword-maker, prior to establishing his own smithy in the hills of Northen Kyoto. Arnon has arrived in Portland in 2000, and has been at the same location ever since. He counts Uri Hofi of Israel as one of his main teachers, as well as Ashli Hiroshi of Japan.
Bridgetown Forge offers a variety of classes, for both a novice and the experienced smith: forging Japanese-style knives, tool-making, tong-making, and basic smithing. Heat-treatment, steel selection, and metallurgy are also extensively covered. Hofi’s ergonomic forging method, which allows for fast, accurate forging with reduced effort, is taught throughout, and the emphasis is on practical, straightforward, and effective shaping of steel.
The shop is well-equipped with multiple forging hammers, extensive grinding and polishing setup, gas and coke forges, and an individual forging station for every student. 8 students can be fully accommodated in any class.
New classes are being developed on a continuous basis, and classes to be offered in near future include: power hammer work, forging a cleaver, forging s sushi knife, hammer-making, and axe-making. The goal is to offer a complete curriculum covering the many different skills of a blacksmith. Guest teachers, each an expert in their field, will be teaching at Bridgetown Forge starting this winter, and open forge times will be published on the website in late fall.
