New bladesmith in MA (North shore). Looking for workshop space

[Jesse L]

Hey everyone,

I'm new to blacksmithing/knifemaking, and am based in Marblehead MA.

Why did I get into knifemaking? 
As a half Finnish half American  dual-citizen, I spent a lot of time in Finland growing up where knives are a really big part of the culture. Between my Finnish heritage, the fact that LOTR is the first thing that I remember my dad reading to me every night at bedtime, and my exposure to my American grandfather's knife collection (he was 101st Airborne, 10th Special, Commander of the 3rd Infantry Battalion, etc), I've been into knives from a pretty young age.

The first time I considered getting into knifemaking was after my Recon NCO class (I served in the Finnish army) got matching personalized knives from Heimo Roselli to celebrate making it through our course and getting our SF badges. Then in 2015, I (like many new knifemakers) saw the premier of Forged in Fire, and I've known that I wanted to give it a shot ever since.

This fall, a few co-workers and I signed up for an intro blacksmithing class where we made bottle openers (outdoors, wearing masks and socially distanced), and I got hooked. I started ordering random equipment and going through online courses and reading books. I found a local self-taught knifemaker who was willing to let me spend a day learning from him.

Progress so far:

I've forged 1 knife so far, and will post a picture in this thread once its done (need to fix my bevels, add a handle, and sharpen). I find knifemaking to be a great way to balance out my day job of staring at computer screens for far too many hours per day (software product management).

Looking for workshop space:

This is a long shot, but I'm looking for workshop space that I could rent. I really only need 100-300ish sqft and would use it on the occasional evening and probably once per weekend. An existing knifeshop/blacksmith shop with a little extra space would be ideal. If anyone has any advice or leads on space in the area, please do not hesitate to reach out. I'm currently based in Marblehead, but will likely move to Cambridge late spring/early summer, so anything in the surrounding areas would be of interest to me.

Best,
Jesse

[Latticino]

Recommend you join the New England Blacksmiths and Bladesmiths groups.  They have classes, gatherings (a great one at Ashokan each September), meetings, and hammer-ins, as well as members that may be in your area.  While I doubt that any individual will take on the liability of having a newer smith using their shop unaccompanied, you may be able to setup some personal instruction that would work as well for you and likely accelerate your learning curve quite a bit.

[jlpservicesinc]

I second Latticino's recommendation to join the "NEB" New England Blacksmiths..   There are a fair group of people and we usually get together 2X a year for big teaching and learning usually in the spring and fall..  Also there is a place in NH that is owned by NEB that they are usually open every other Saturday and for a nominal fee you can use the equipment and seek information. 

I am the MA rep so feel free to reach out. 

there are a bunch of resources in NEW England,  I'm starting a school should things finally come together..  There is a place in ME,  Ashokan NY.. 

Welcome aboard. 

[Jesse L]

Thanks guys, I'll definitely check out NEB and I'll reach out to you in the new year!

Using the @ name on the forum

Edited December 20, 2020 by Mod30
Remove @name tag

[jlpservicesinc]

Sounds good Jesse..  I'm easy to contact.