ButterHog Forge is a GREAT place for your first experience at blacksmithing. Bought this for my 15M son for his birthday. Cole was patient, super informative and friendly, and completely customized the experience to what my son was comfortable with (both independent work and guided help). Highly recommend, 10/10! read more

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My wife and I took a class with Cole and made forged steel roses. Cole was a gracious host and did a great job of explaining the process, and letting us be involved as we wanted. I will definitely be looking to take some other classes as I'm confident my kids would love trying their hands at making knives. read more

We did this experience from my husband back in May 2025 as a birthday gift and it was absolutely amazing! He did the railroad tie knife forging and loved it so much! We use this knife in our kitchen! read more

I signed all three of my kids (15F, 13F and 12M) up to do the railroad spike knife class. I stuck around to watch and take pictures. They had an AMAZING time and were so thrilled with their knives. Cole was awesome and catered everything to their skill and comfort level. He offered help throughout but let them take the lead and do as much as they were comfortable with. Even with three of them, nobody was bored or standing around waiting. They all kept busy and made their own unique knives. I would highly recommend this experience and am a little regretful that I didn't sign myself up to forge a knife with them! read more

ButterHog Forge - Knife Sharpening Near Me - Kalamazoo, Michigan

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I wasn't sure exactly what to expect when I met Cole at the Kzoo Farmers market and decided to take a chef's knife forging class, but I can say that I'm absolutely blown away by the experience. I had a blast, LOVE my knife, and I can say with certainty that I'll be back to do it again. What I liked most about the class is that Cole gives you complete control over the process, you can let him help, you can do it completely yourself, and you can make all the decisions from shape, to color, to type of wood used for the handle. I chose to make mine larger than he usually does in a class, so it took a little longer than it would if you did a hunting knife or smaller chef knife. My blade is just under 9 inches long and two and a half wide. You can break it up into two days or do it all in one, I was just over the 6-8 hour timeframe he quoted when I did it all yesterday. He made me a delicious lunch during one of the steel heating sessions and we just had a fantastic day forging knives. I've already used my knife, it's easily the sharpest I've ever had, and I love the feel and weight - nothing like having a one of a kind piece that I'll have for the rest of my life. read more

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My husband and I came across this place at the farmers market- it looked interesting so we booked a rail road spike class. We not only had a great time but came away with an awesome knife! Cole is restoring an old cleaver for us now. We're looking forward to bringing our adult sons here for a class when they're in town!! We highly recommend this venue for a great experience. Cole is a nice guy and a patient teacher too! read more