WOLCOTT, Conn. — Matt Parkinson and Matt Berry, both partners at the Dragon’s Breath Forge in Wolcott, are back to teaching their craft – bladesmithing classes have returned to their new studio.
Parkinson and Berry are both former winners of the History Channel show “Forged in Fire” and, right before the pandemic hit, they refurbished part of the forge to welcome guests and teach the tricks of their age-old trade.
Parkinson said, “before COVID hit we decided to invest in this space and that was really poorly timed, but now we’re up and open and better than ever.”
Matt Berry, a former software engineer turned expert bladesmith said the fact that the pandemic kept so many people inside is helping their business, and the classes remain popular.
Berry remarked, “part of the magnetism might be that primal urge to hit something – combined with fire. It’s just really cool to take a hot piece of metal and just beat on it.”
Taking part in a full-day introductory bladesmithing class with his two sons was Nick Conti from Berlin.
Conti said of the class, “it’s just something pure, it’s a lot of fun to work with these types of materials.”
Classes at Dragon’s Breath Forge are most often offered on weekends and Parkinson noted that advanced classes in sword making could be coming down the road for more experienced students.
Parkinson added, “this craft is a never-ending cycle of learning… I find that so fascinating and exciting.”
To find out more about the Dragon’s Breath Forge and the classes they offer click here.
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