Escuela de Herreros Ramón Recuero
TELEPHONE:
ADDRESS:
Ronda del Parque, 13 – 45691 San Antonio
DESCRIPTION OF THE CENTER
This Blacksmiths’ School, located in the village of San Antonio in Toledo province, is also the home and workshop of the master blacksmith Ramón Recuero. It has become a national and international benchmark for the learning of traditional smithing and forging techniques.
In 2012, given the… large number of learner blacksmiths wishing to train with Ramón, he turned his workshop into an “International Centre of Metal Arts”. From the outset the stress was put on research in the field and the communication of traditional blacksmithing techniques.
The school has a workshop fitted out for forge work, with an area of 150 m² including an exhibition space with pieces wrought by both instructors and trainees at the school, as a broad sample of the technical possibilities of traditional blacksmithing and contemporary ironwork. The school also has free accommodation facilities for the pupils of each course.
COURSES
The Blacksmiths’ School offers training all year round, normally with a duration of a weekend, a week or up to four weeks.
The following courses are offered, delivered by the School’s master blacksmiths:
– Traditional blacksmithing I, with the master blacksmith Pablo Avellaneda
– Traditional blacksmithing Il, with… the master blacksmith Ramón Recuero Ibáñez
– Hot welding, with the master blacksmith Víctor M. Acosta
– Forging of tools and heat treatment of steel, with the master blacksmith Pablo Avellaneda
– Gold and silver leaf techniques, with the master blacksmith Verónica Herrán
– Future master blacksmiths (4 weeks), with the master smiths Pablo Avellaneda and Víctor M. Acosta
They also give the following courses:
– Traditional knife-making
– 16th/17th-century Toledan sword-making
– Forging of axes
Besides these courses Ramón Recuero has set up a mentored workshop known as “Centre for the Recovery of Traditional Blacksmithing Techniques”, in which his trainees, working on a self-employed basis, collaborate with the workshop’s master blacksmiths and participate in real traditional smithing projects for clients. Thus they receive the necessary training to become professionals and to be able to set up their own workshops.
OTHER INFORMATION
– This is a private centre
– A certificate is awarded on the completion of courses
– As well as in-person courses, the Blacksmiths’ School offers many free video tutorials through its YouTube channel
