Iron Mountain Metal Craft — Local services in Pigeon Forge

While planning a trip to visit my parents in Knoxville a few weeks back, I was looking for fun things to do with my 13-year-old son while in town. My son and I are big fans of Forged in Fire, so I thought that forging a knife would be a great experience for him. After a quick search online, I found Iron Mountain Metal Craft. I was a bit skeptical when I saw so many good reviews and 5-star ratings. That many good reviews seemed a bit fishy to me, but I figured I’d give it a shot. Boy am I happy that I did. I can tell you now that based on our experience, the folks at Iron Mountain Metal Craft deserve every good review they get.

I had somewhat expected that the knife forging experience was going to be more hands off, with the forge workers doing most of the work. I was wrong. There was a very fair mix of hands on and hands-off work with my son doing much of the work and the forge’s workers doing the type of work that I wouldn’t expect a 13-year-old (or any inexperienced person) to do. The smiths that worked with my son were both friendly and patient, giving him appropriate guidance where needed. We chose to do the large railroad spike knife. My son got to hammer out the shape and put the twist in the handle. He worked up a good sweat and was beaming the entire time. Though I already knew based on the look on his face, he told me afterwards that he had a fantastic time.

My father and brother were with us as well. My father and I had a great time watching and taking pictures. My brother joined in the fun, making his own knife. He also had a great time.

The knives they made included very nice leather sheathes. After we were done, we went to a great leather-works place right next door where, for a small, reasonable fee, the friendly staff stamped my son’s initials and the date into his sheath.

Overall it was a fantastic experience for my father, my brother, myself and especially my son. My sincerest thanks to the great staff at Iron Mountain Metal Craft for providing my son with a wonderful memory that I am certain he will keep for the rest...

I really feel like I need to take the time and write a review for Raymond, who we worked with.

I’ve never seen or heard of the show. We came here on our son’s 14th birthday because we thought he’d enjoy an activity like this. He and my husband had considered the various knives ahead of time and each wanted to make the hardest one (not sure what it’s called.)

When we got there, the woman working the desk strongly advised that my son, who is on the smaller side, not make that knife as even grown men often have to have the professional finish pounding it for them. I don’t fault her for this. She was trying to make sure my son didn’t end up disappointed.

After going back and forth, my son decided he still wanted to try making this particular knife. He said that since it was the one he really wanted, if he couldn’t finish it, he would be ok with it.

Raymond was aware of the situation and boy did he step up. He certainly didn’t have to. It was over a hundred degrees in that room and those men work hard all day. Nevertheless, he managed to coach my son in such a way verbally that he was able to complete the task himself. It was obvious that Raymond wanted our son to successfully complete it just as much as we did. We were all so proud of him and he was proud of himself. What was touching was that before his knife was handed over, Raymond held it out to him for an extra second and looked him hard in the eye, saying that he wanted him to always look at his knife and remember he accomplished something at 14 that many grown men can’t do. It was special and I know my son will remember that forever. The lesson will go far beyond this. It really made his 14th birthday one for the books. Please pass our gratitude on. Thank you so much...

My wife and I, being avid fans of "Forged in Fire," were incredibly excited to experience this unique opportunity. However, it's crucial to manage expectations before visiting. You can hammer and twist the steel, but that's the extent of it; you're not allowed to hold the metal with tongs—they do it for you—and there's no grinding or even quenching the metal yourself. The women in the store were very nice and welcoming, creating a good first impression, but the men in the forge were a different story. They weren’t rude, but they lacked warmth or engagement, with no greetings or small talk, just straight to business with instructions on how to use the hammer. The forge heavily markets itself on its "Forged in Fire" connection, which is exciting for fans, but unfortunately, this connection seems superficial once you're in the forge. When we tried to engage with some light-hearted comments from the show, we were met with stone-faced silence and an attitude that seemed to say, "not another one." For $170 for a 30-minute session, a bit of humor or interaction would have gone a long way. While the actual forging was intriguing and it's neat to feel how metal moves under the hammer—the lack of personal touch and the restrictive nature of what you're allowed to do made it less than we hoped for. Overall, while it was good to have hands-on experience with metal, I wouldn't recommend this for repeat visits or to others looking for an interactive and fun forging experience. The staff's demeanor and the limitations on what you can do take away from what could be a truly engaging experience. If you go, go in knowing it's more about feeling the metal than about the joy of crafting or connecting with the...