Entry No. 40 — the Asheville file — filed under: blacksmithing
The Forge by Vikings Don't Cry
Jeremy Ramsey's family has been in these mountains for eight generations, and his Clan Ramsay line runs — by the family genealogy — back through William the Conqueror to Rollo the Viking, a pedigree he now tests by handing visitors 2,000-degree steel. He found an abandoned coal forge and anvil on his 60-acre Mars Hill farm, taught himself bladesmithing, and runs 2-3 hour sessions where you forge your own knife, dagger, or hatchet: real hammer, real fire, what the site calls full-contact blacksmithing. Swords are off the menu for beginners, but he built a throne entirely out of them, and portrait sessions on it — wardrobe and props included — are a separate booking. The operation has stacked up more than 1,700 five-star Airbnb reviews doing exactly this.
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The story
Jeremy Ramsey's family has been in these mountains for eight generations. When he and his wife took over a 60-acre farm in Mars Hill, the previous owners had left a coal forge and an anvil behind, abandoned in place. "Something about that forge called to me," is how he tells it — he signed up for a blacksmithing class to do right by the thing, and never went back to whatever he was doing before. The name came later, out of his own genealogy: the Scottish Clan Ramsay, which by the family's reckoning runs back through William the Conqueror to Rollo the Viking. Hence Vikings Don't Cry. The ancestry is the branding; the abandoned forge is the actual business.
What you book is a two-to-three-hour session at $160 a head, and it is not a demonstration. You get a safety walkthrough and a tour of the shop, pick your object — knife, dagger, hatchet, or another item off Jeremy's list — and then spend the afternoon moving orange steel around with a hammer while he corrects your angle. The site calls this full-contact blacksmithing and means it: open coal fire, real tools, gloves and basic safety gear supplied, closed-toe shoes and long pants on you. No swords for beginners, though a throne built entirely out of them sits on the property; portraits in it are a separate booking with Dani at Once Upon a Photo Studios, wardrobe and props included.
The operation runs on repeat customers and word of mouth — 1,781 Airbnb guests at a flat 5.0 average, plus 83 Google reviews — and the forge caps any group at 12. Read the terms of service and you'll notice the at-your-own-risk language also covers axe throwing and archery, which tells you the farm is considerably bigger than the one building you drove up for.
What it's like
Arrive ten minutes early; they ask for it, and you'll want the margin, because 5406 US-23 is a little over thirty minutes north of Asheville and there's a waiver to sign before anyone touches a hammer. Sessions open with a safety walkthrough and a look around the shop, then Jeremy lays out the options and you commit to a shape. After that it's heat, hammer, reheat, repeat, with correction the whole way — three hours sounds generous until you're twenty minutes into one bevel. It's an open coal fire in a working farm building, so it's hot in any season and sparks go where they like. Etiquette is simple: listen to the man holding the tongs, stay out of the swing radius, and assume you're being photographed — the terms grant promotional use unless you say otherwise in writing.
The move: Reserve two side-by-side slots on the calendar ($160 each), spend the afternoon hammering out a matched pair of blades, and ask about a Throne of Swords portrait before you go — arrive 10 minutes early, leave armed.
📍 Before you go Appointment-only — book via the calendar at vikingsdontcry.com or call (828) 779-2176; the working farm's exact address in Mars Hill comes with your booking confirmation, roughly 30 minutes north of Asheville. Sessions run 2-3 hours, groups cap at 12 with discounted rates, and it is an open-flame coal forge, so dress for sparks. No swords for first-timers.
- 📍 Mars Hill
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Hours: Added 2026-08-25 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Wild Abundance — The other school in this rural corridor north of Asheville where you leave holding something you made from raw material — bow-drill fire in Barnardsville instead of forged steel in Mars Hill.
- Zadie's Market at the Old Marshall Jail — Marshall sits about twenty minutes west of the forge, still in Madison County, and Zadie's river patio in the old jail is the obvious place to eat once your forearms quit.
- DRIP Nordic Sauna — Catch it on the drive back into Woodfin: wood-fired barrel saunas and a cold plunge, which is either more of the same or the cure, depending on how the hammering went.
More weird in Asheville
Good to know
Where exactly is it, and how do I get there?
The site now publishes the address: 5406 US-23, Mars Hill, NC 28754, in Madison County, a little over half an hour north of Asheville. Phone is (828) 779-2176, email [email protected]. There is no transit option — drive, and allow for mountain two-lane.
What does it cost, and do I keep what I make?
$160 per person for a 2-3 hour session, all tools and basic safety gear included. You take home the knife, dagger, hatchet, or whatever else you forged. Gift certificates are sold through the site, and sessions are also bookable via Airbnb Experiences.
Is there an age minimum?
Participants must be 14 or older. Anyone under 18 needs a parent or guardian on site to sign the liability waiver — not emailed in advance, signed in person before the session starts.
Can we book for a group?
Yes, up to 12 participants, with discounted group rates and custom times possible. Group bookings must be made at least 30 days in advance through the group-sessions form on the site.
What if the weather turns or we need to move the date?
Cancel 48 or more hours ahead and you can reschedule once at no cost; inside 48 hours, or a no-show, forfeits the fee. Large groups need 14 days' notice. If they cancel for unsafe weather, equipment failure, or illness, you choose a full refund or a new date.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · Tripadvisor
last checked: 2026-08-25