Nestled in Kien Hung Commune, Ha Dong Town, Hanoi, the small, but prestigious village – Da Sy has a long – standing history of forging profession. Historically, two blacksmith ancestors of the profession were Nguyen Thuat and Nguyen Thuan who came to the village several hundred years ago, and taught forging technics for locals. During wars in Vietnam, the village was the main source supporting weapons for Vietnam military. However, when peace returned to Viet Nam 40 years ago, the Da Sy people returned to making to agricultural implements such as ploughs, rakes and machinery parts or kitchen implements.
The work of making forging products is hard and complicated with various processes, such as making rough drafts, keeping fires burning, hitting red-hot iron into shape with hammers, tempering (strengthening) the metal with water – and then sharpening the final product. Every family has a secret of its own and the secret is just passed to the family members. In Mr. Sinh’s family, there is a secret liquid applied on knives that make them special. Good luck, we hope you could find out 😉
In this course, you will go through all processes of making a simple knife. Eventhough today, blacksmiths are supported by machines, when visiting the village and host’s house, you will learn basic teachnics of handmade forging which is traditional and helps bringing better quality products.
- $54/person
- 2-3 hour indoor activities
- English speaking guide
- Location: 30-min driving from Hanoi Old Quarter
- Availability: 9:00 | 14:00 daily (get in touch to request prefered date and time)