Beer and Knives: A Girlie Weekend

Last night we went on the Monteith's brewery tour and it was really cool. We got to walk all through the brewery and learn about the process, smell the barley (taste it if you wanted - Sarah said it tasted like chocolate dirt), and best of all at the end we were able to taste all 7 of their beers. Afterwards the tour continued at the Railway Hotel for a bbq dinner and more Monteith's beer.

This morning we drove to Barrytown which is about 30 minutes north of Greymouth for knife making! We had seen a brochure for this class in the North Island and it seemed like a cool, unique way to obtain a one-of-a-kind souvenier. We put on smock shirts, gloves and glasses and started to work. This picture shows all the materials we used for our knives, only 4 things: steel, wood, brass and brass pegs.

First step is to heat up the steel in the fire and pound it into a rough knife shape using a heavy mallet. It was WAY harder than I thought thus my new found respect for blacksmiths.
Next you take the hammered steal and shape it using sanding machines. We used the sanders all day to shape, polish, sharpen and buff the knives.
The next step is really important. Walking the mini horse. Just kidding. The farm had a bunch of animals so during lunch we fed the ducks, pet the horses (regular and mini) and played on their giant swing. Robyn (Steven our teacher's wife) handed me a rope and I thought it was the dog leash and boy was I surprised when I turned around to see a mini horse on the other end.
Below is a picture of the knives before they were finished. Steven told Sarah that the wood used for the handles was from a "mad woman's dorm" aka mental institution so that makes our knives even cooler. After more shaping, sanding, 30 minutes of hand sanding and polishing our knives were finished and it was time for champange!

The whole day was really cool and so fun. I'm really glad we did it, and now we have beautiful knives to keep as souveniers! We are staying in Greymouth again tonight, right now its pouring so we are taking refuge in the TV room watching American Idol. Tomorrow we are driving south towards the glaciers!