I booked a session for my family of 5 - 2 adults and 3 kids ages 5 to 9. After looking at the website I was confused about what the kids would be able to make so I called. Since it was around the holidays they had ornaments so I thought that would be a great idea. Our appointment time was scheduled for 10am and we were told on the reminder to come early. However the building does not open until 10. We were just arriving as the workers did and they were nice enough to let us in a few minutes early since it was very cold out. The staff did a great job of helping the kids pick out their ornament and the. Organizing everyone to start. I found out while there that some of the ornaments are not heated and I felt like that was part of the experience. My suggestions is to make a knife or other item that is heated to get the full experience. I thought it might be too hard but they do a great job walking you through the experience. You can also always help your child with the hammer if needed. It was also cool that my husband and I made the horseshoe knives and when you join the handles together you can see they came from the same horseshoe. read more

Bavarian Blacksmith Experience - Metal Fabricators Near Me - Frankenmuth, Michigan

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My son and I used to watch Forged in Fire (reality blacksmith show) for years, so when his birthday approached, I tried to look for experiences (rather than things). Thankfully there are places like Bavarian Blacksmith that give you a taste without the fiscal input or years of experience one needs to succeed. If you're unsure of what you might wanna make, don't go any higher than the Anvil Experience. This allows you to team with a seasoned blacksmith and hammer out something you might use (marshmallow poker, rail spike knife, etc.). For a few additional dollars, you can find something a bit more practical for every day use--such as the high carbon steel knife (suitable for the kitchen). *If you wanna do the quench that Forged in Fire judges always analyze, definitely go with high carbon steel experience! In the end, BBE gives you the opportunity to try blacksmithing. They provide direction and guidance, however, the finishing touches are all done in-house. I asked if my kitchen knife would be able to dawn a guard (even if it was a paracord wrap), but apparently they do not do guards (despite several of the pre-made knives on sale having one). NOTE: If you prefer a more coastal experience, the organization just opened (summer 2025) Black Flag Forge in Myrtle Beach. While I was surprised to find the two companies were linked, Forged in Fire winner and owner, Josh Weston's, original home forge was in South Carolina. FOR THOSE TRAVELING: Frankenmuth is a tourist focused town. It's pretty obvious from the theme park-like setting of the River Place Shops, but the life size cuckoo clock and chimes at the Bavarian Lodge pretty much seal it. You'll also note that pretty much every shop has the same touristy trinkets as the next. My advice--seek out the unique parts of Frankenmuth (such as the blacksmithing, charcuterie restaurant, sausage shop, etc.) that make it truly stand out. read more

Bavarian Blacksmith Experience - High carbon steel--be fore and after. - Metal Fabricators Near Me - Frankenmuth, Michigan

There were four of us and we each made something different. It was a really fun experience and we would all do it again. read more

We had a wonderful experience. Josh, the blacksmith, explained the process and guided us through making our knives. They then finish the knives for you and contacted us when they were done. They look great. Would do it again!! read more

Bavarian Blacksmith Experience - The finished knives from our session. - Metal Fabricators Near Me - Frankenmuth, Michigan

My Son just did the rail spike knife. The guys were all professional and spoke with clear instructions and in an encouraging way. The guys behind the counter were great despite the noise volume and activity in the store bc it was PACKED with people. Milling around, waiting for their appt, buying things etc. My son LOVED the experience. I'd like to add that the people complaining on other reviews about how much you can do? Each Smith has his own group, 3 groups in the forge room at the same time and just in the time we were there, there was a session in progress, another session after, then ours... so you can imagine how they need to keep things SAFE and on time. I felt like the amount of handling they were able to do was appropriate. I do wish it were more apparent that there is 2 hour window at the end of your service for sharpening/finishing but for me, it didn't stifle my day. I will definitely recommend this! I may even plan a school field trip soon! read more

Today we are going for our 3rd "class" we made rune necklaces, chopsticks and a wand. Today we are making a candy cane and a veggie chopper and we are so excited. Go go in and check in at the desk, try to arrive early! That way you can check in and be ready with your materials and ticket when they call your scheduled group. Usually takes 30mins-2hours depending on what your making. They have to constantly heat, bend, cool and repeat over and over again until your happy with it- if you arent speak up and they can fix it/adjust it for you, otherwise once its been cooled completely and polished itll be harder to "fix". Also whatever you get they will polish for you and sometimes will put a bronze, silver or gold hue if you ask. Once your done theyll take it to a separate location for another blacksmith to work on while they continue the classes. Usually you can come back in about 1-2 hours or the next day and pick up your items. read more

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If you ever been curious about trying something new in Frankenmuth, I highly recommend trying the Bavarian Blacksmith Experience. I decided to make a marshmallow roasting stick because it looked like fun. Per their website, the anvil spot changes depending on the season/Blacksmith primarily working it. When I was making my roasting stick, I had a Blacksmith who was watching and helping me through the whole process. He made it a really enjoyable one. He was able to answer my questions about the process and helped me keep my stick straight during the process. The value that I got from the experience was worth every bit that I paid for. Doing a blacksmith experience is something that I would definitely do again. I would do this again when I'm next up in Frankenmuth. read more

Bavarian Blacksmith Experience - Marshmallow Roasting Stick that I made - Metal Fabricators Near Me - Frankenmuth, Michigan

We had a great time here! We fashioned knives from half a horseshoe, a railroad tie, and a carbon steel blank. The smith was personable, knowledgeable, and quite able to communicate with us about how to accomplish this slightly scary craft. They finished the knife edges for us and presented them in handmade leather covers. What a wonderful, truly functional souvenir of our day in Frankenmuth. We highly recommend this experience! read more

Bavarian Blacksmith Experience - Our beautiful pieces, sure to be used for charcuterie boards, slicing fruit, and small chopping jobs for years to come. - Metal Fabricators Near Me - Frankenmuth, Michigan

Very fun and friendly staff. They give you clear instruction and help you smith the blade you want to make. Surprisingly you are done in an hour and the guy who polishes it up makes you feel like a true craftsman! My wife and daughter gave me this as a belated Father's Day present! It was a blast. Highly recommend and yes it costs a bit, but you now have a custom railroad dagger or knife! And you partly learned a new skill. Wish it took longer and you got a ton more instruction, but I am sure that would cost more! read more

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Bavarian Blacksmith is a great addition to Frankemuth's river shops. We had visited Frankenmuth to look at the ice sculptures and snow sculptures. We looked and thought that looks interesting, let's take a walk through the blacksmiths shop. As we walked in the shop we realized that you could make your own knife or a metal candy cane Christmas decoration. We decided to make the candy cane. I then waited for the blacksmith to call us into the room. He explained the safety practices and then he took us step by step through the process of heating the metal cherry red the forming the candy cane with the blacksmith tongs, pliers and hammers. After we made our candy can our blacksmith took it into another room to use a metal brush to clean it up and polish it on a grinder soft wheel. We had a great time and would highly recommend this adventure. The staff is amazing and the pictures and tools of the trade will keep any child or adult entertained. read more

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The one big thing missing from renaissance fairs is the ability to be a blacksmith. If they cover all the other elements - jousting, falconry, eating a giant turkey leg - where is the smithing?! Turns out it's in old Bavaria by way of Frankenmuth. We were lucky enough to be able to squeeze into the last session they had the day we were in Frankenmuth, thanks to a very friendly person who answered the phone and managed to move around a few end of day reservations. Given we were there in December, we elected to make ornaments, while the group ahead of us forged their own "knives" out of a piece of metal. The sessions are very beginner friendly, with trained blacksmiths putting the metal into the forge each time to keep it maleable, while instructing you where to hit the metal to begin to shape your final object. While the knife and dagger classes spent a lot of time shaping their finished product, the ornament class was a pretty cursory affair, with preshaped, flat pieces of metal already set up leaving us to mostly hammer in tiny details - a bit disappointing for the price read more

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We came to to celebrate our anniversary with a unique experience, and we got exactly what we were looking for. We booked online for 3pm on a Friday. It was busy, but not crowded. Jacob was our blacksmith guide and he was friendly, humorous, and knowledgeable. We had fun from start to finish. We were told the knife would be ready in 45-60 minutes and we recieved a text in that exact amount of time. It's a souvenirs that will be cherished for a very long time. Well worth it! read more

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The making is fun and enjoyable. For that I would give a 5. The problem is when you told to come back in 45 minutes to get your sharped knife. You come back and they say it is still not done. Go walk around. Which is ok accept it was not done for over 5 hrs. The little obnoxious guy at the front desk did not make it easier. He was interruptive and rude. For the price. Send the knives in the mail for crying out loud. 5 hrs? Seriously. They had places to be and that made their trip end bad. Do something about that guy at the front desk. Cause he is the reason for one star. You don't take peoples money and then treat them like garbage cause they can't do a thing about it now. read more

This was a new experience for us. My husband is a huge fan of forged in fire. The instructor explained what was happening and was so helpful. You actually walked away with an item you made! The value was great and in the end you have a awesome keepsake! read more

What a fantastic time. Lenny and Steven were great. They answered all my questions and helped me to have one heck of an experience that I will never forget. Thanks. read more

Beware when shopping at the Bavarian Blacksmith Experience store in Frankenmuth Mi. ! While the experience of blacksmithing is great ( like others have noted the wait can be long to get your finished stuff ) , I don't recommend buying any of the pre-made stuff around the counter area without verifying prices first . We went for our first time to visit this shop on May 4 of this year . My fiance can't do the forge because he is on oxygen , but loved the work . I snuck back to get him a marked as around 5 dollar red leather key chain he had fallen in love with . It was no longer 5 bucks , but now $15 . Tag changed & all . Thought maybe we had seen it wrong & he really liked it, a lot of the pre made is pricey so I didn't just tell them to put it back . Didn't get a e-mail receipt like I was supposed to & no paper one at purchase. My bank logged it as $15.90 including tax . so thought nothing of it. Went there today with friends for a birthday forge experience . That part was amazing , But there were those red leather keychains by the register & guess what ??? They were marked at $5 again. So this out of towner/rube got rooked ! My advice .. go for the forge experience , but Beware buying off the Shelf stuff. Don't show interest in an item & come back later without taking a pic of the price tag first . Especially on a slow day . read more

Bavarian Blacksmith Experience - How much I was charged for the key chain - Metal Fabricators Near Me - Frankenmuth, Michigan

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We had the kiddos make some ornaments for something experiential and fun to do instead of just picking out a yearly ornament. They all picked out a piece of metal to bang on and color for it. Two picked a goat and one picked a tree. I think it was honestly just enough of an intro into metal working for them but for the goats I wish they out the lines on the antlers like the ones in the shop. The adult in me wishes they had more time to bang more indents into the designs but the kids didn't seem to care or notice. They reported to have really enjoyed pounding on it and also stamping the items with dates. When I got up I pounded as fast as I could to get lots of dents lol. It was age appropriate for them to do the ornaments there is no way they could have or should have done the knives I don't think. The blacksmith was entertaining helpful patient and friendly. The service at the desk was sooooo kind and they remembered who you were etc. I would recommend going here and make reservations just to be safe. read more

This was a great experience. My wife made a ornament and I made a knife. I felt like the prices were fair but I had to knock a star off because the finish grinding done on my knife was horrible. The knife wasn't even sharp and the grind was not even close to symmetrical. For the cost - I felt like I deserved a decent finish to the knife. Nonetheless, this was a really fun experience and I definitely recommend. read more

Such an awesome experience. Friendly staff and Matthew was a great instructor. We will definitely be back to craft something else. read more

Bavarian Blacksmith Experience - Railroad spike knife and dagger - Metal Fabricators Near Me - Frankenmuth, Michigan

Me and my fiancé went to Frankenmuth for a few days. This was our first time in the city, so we wanted to see what it had to offer. The city did not disappoint. Upon our arrival, we came across Bavarian Blacksmith Experience. To say that the experience and staff were great is an understatement. Amanda was super nice and informative about the whole process and experience and was able to schedule us an in right away. She took her time explaining everything to us, going over all options available and was super knowledgeable about the products and aftercare. Thanks to Aamanda, we felt super confident and excited about our purchase. Did I mention she was super sweet? She even took our photos when we were done in front of the store. Our blacksmith/instructor was Sam, he was amazing. His instructions were easy to follow, and he was super patient with us as we got tired from the hammering. He wasn't just teaching but also conversing with us which made the experience even more enjoyable. He was even accommodating when my fiancé wanted a cheese knife out of his horseshoe knife. Brandon was splendid, he further did the finishes on my fiancé's knife so he can use it as a cheese knife, and he wasn't even our instructor, but still gave a helping hand. My fiance loves his cheese knife. Thank you so much! The whole staff went above and beyond to provide nothing short of exceptional customer service and an unforgettable experience. We left with two knives and a pendant. We love our finished products, and it was worth every cent. Amanda was bubbly. Sam was a great teacher. Brandon has an awesome sense of humor. We even stayed after just having a conversation with the staff and getting recommendations on what else to do. To anyone looking for something to do, this place is a must! Where else can you go to forge your souvenirs and receive the best customer service? Bavarian Blacksmith Experience. read more

We booked the axe making event for my husband for his birthday this year. He has always wanted to forge a weapon so he was really excited for this. He took a day off of work to drive an hour and a half to Frankenmuth for this experience. His class was 10/26/21 at 9 a.m. He got an email at 9 a.m. on 10/25/21 to confirm his class, which he confirmed. Fast forward to today (10/26). He drives down to Frankenmuth, arrives at 8:30 and the doors are locked. No big deal, he was early. As it got closer to 9, he got more nervous. He happened to look in his email and noticed that last night he got an email at 8:55 p.m. that they were cancelling his class for this morning. This is absolutely unacceptable, in my opinion. At 9 p.m. he was already in bed. He took a day off of work for this and put down a $100 deposit. We are really disappointed in this unprofessionalism and lack of communication! This absolutely required a call. The manager (or whoever sent the email) should have called him last night! So he sees that the doors say that they open at 11 a.m. today. so he waited in the parking lot until 11. So at this point he drove an hour and a half and then waited 2 and a half hours in the parking lot to talk to someone because no one was answering the phone when he would call. So at 11 he goes inside and there are two women behind the counter. He tells them what happened and they apologize profusely. It's not even their fault. It was relayed that they got an email telling them what time to open the doors today. So no call to their employees either. Really?? They finally got another person out there to talk to my husband who says that the instructors flight got cancelled and that is why the class was cancelled. My husband asked if they were having any other classes today and they said they had one around noon. At this point he's wasted half a day already and he's over it. He did ask for his $100 deposit back which they gave him without question (as they should). But this really ruined the experience for him. He will not go back. He doesn't want to re-book for fear of this happening again. I feel terrible because this was his birthday present and it ended up being a total bust. We will not be back. We will not attempt to rebook with this company. It's really unfortunate because it looked to be a really cool experience. Do better. Communicate with your customers. He got his deposit back but he had to waste a vacation day and gas to get down there. So, so disappointing! read more