There isn’t a whole lot of much that happens in Barrytown, just a few accomodations and larger towns on either side, but a particular couple puts out pamphlets at all the hostels on the South Island for their knife making workshops. So, it was something that must be done. We found accommodation at the wonderful Beach Hostel nearby, and rose for an early day of sweet, sweet labor.
We arrived at Barrytown Knife Making early in the morning, and drove down a quarter mile of gravel paddock road to a small car park nee driveway, and walked up to a small house and a blacksmith’s workshop that had somehow grown off of it like an organic extension of the porch. The house is neatly tucked into a small grove of trees, and there were chickens and cockatoos, an energetic terrier, and a Frenchman throwing axes and shuriken (ninja stars) to greet us. We were checked in by Robin, the smith’s lovely assistant, and I was outfitted with a work shirt and safety gear while Kara and Lizzy familiarized themselves with the art of throwing sharp things at wooden targets.
In all, the group for the day included a French chef, four American mushroom picking enthusiasts, an American naval chaplain and his family visiting from Japan, and me. A German kid would show up to slow down the day a few hours later. Steven, the smith, was not impressed.