Having no knowledge of Blacksmithing other than reading about it and not having easy access to a class, im in a bit of a bind. If anyone knows of any places around St. Louis, Illinois where someone can teach me, by all means let me know. I would love to take a class, I've just been unable to find any. I live 15 minutes out of St. Louis. Im wanting to learn how to Smith blades if that matters, im sure any blacksmith could head me in the right direction though. It's just going to be hard to teach myself something such as this.

There are two ABANA affiliates that serve the state of Illinois. Here are some links to those:

Upper Midwest Blacksmith Association:
http://www.umbaonline.org/

Illinois Valley Blacksmith Association
http://www.illinoisblacksmith.org/

Knowing nothing about that part of the US, someone with either of these guilds can be of help to steer you in the right direction.

Also Mark and Mindy Gardner are wonderful people. They have demonstrated for us, and also teach a class here for us every year. Here is a link to their site:
http://www.floodplainforge.com/

Hope this helps...I am sure others will have some better resources for you.
Good luck
Peyton

Having no knowledge of Blacksmithing other than reading about it and not having easy access to a class, im in a bit of a bind. If anyone knows of any places around St. Louis, Illinois where someone can teach me, by all means let me know. I would love to take a class, I've just been unable to find any. I live 15 minutes out of St. Louis. Im wanting to learn how to Smith blades if that matters, im sure any blacksmith could head me in the right direction though. It's just going to be hard to teach myself something such as this.

Ox
I have sent you a Private Message telling how to contact a local mentor and instructor of beginning classes right in your area.

Happy Learning to You
Anvillain

Howdy and welcome to IFI. I also sent you a PM; we are almost neighbors!!!

www.bamsite.org is right across the river in MO also

www.bamsite.org is right across the river in MO also

i am a blacksmith in saintcharles county and a member of bam if you pm me i will try and get you some forge time when it gets a little warmer
or a little less snowy

Too bad; timing is everything. In November, I presented a workshop for the MO smiths (BAM)in the suburb of Sunset Hills. I stayed with my cousins in Belleville, IL.

http://www.turleyforge.com

Ox, as you can see, there are a lot of us from the Illinois and St Louis area on this site. I'm sure that you will find someone that can give you some help. I'm across the state from you, in East Central ILL, but you will find a lot of open forges in the area. Join IVBA. It's a good organization. In April, Mark Aspery will be doing demos at Lincoln's New Salem State historic site just a short distance from Springfield. If you are interested, let me know and I'll get you the Info. :)

Sorry for reviving this thread, but I am a DuPage County resident also looking for an open-forge or community I can get into sometime next year. I am all the way up here and it doesn't seem there are many publicly advertised! D:

On September 26, 2015 at 3:59 PM, jjbeck said:

Sorry for reviving this thread, but I am a DuPage County resident also looking for an open-forge or community I can get into sometime next year. I am all the way up here and it doesn't seem there are many publicly advertised! D:

Hey JJbeck-

I am too in the DuPage area and find it hard to believe that there is no one around without going 2.5 hours down to the Sugar Grove group.  Did you hear anything?  Was going to try and set up a forge here on the property as a group thing if I can find enough people.

 

Sorry to revive this thread. I Live in St. Louis, right by the airport and I'm looking for someone to work with and who will show me the ropes. 

Reviving this thread in hopes of finding some help. I've recently committed myself to pursuing a career in black smithing and hopefully sometime after bladesmithing. I'm in the Coal City area looking for information on local classes and or an instructor to get my start. I'm welcome to any and all information. Thanks. 

Look into the American Bladesmith Society schools