The Pocket Forge

Hi, I’m Ben! I live in the UK and I make hand forged miniature swords for a living. I’m a bit obsessed. I’m not sure if hashtags are a thing here but my interests are #blacksmithing #swords #bladesmithing #medievalhistory #fantasy #dungeonsanddragons #artsandcrafts

It looks like one (1) gram of meat is back on the menu, boys!!! Here’s a fun little Uruk cleaver and shield, available as a pair on my website. They’re heavy and spiky and pretty grumblesome www.thepocketforge.com/shop/p/l7jq1...

Here’s some new stuff I’ve been working on recently! It’s not been a great start to the year but I’m just keeping my head down and cranking out my silly art like a good little gnome

@thepocketforge.bsky.social - Sleeble arrives just in time to be a reward for finishing a bit of DIY! I've put them on the shelf to become a bookworm.

I’m still alive! I’m trying to limit my social media use to 2hrs a day, but accidentally just applied that to instagram, and forgot about the other platforms I use. But here’s an update on what I made for those who are out of the loop: Boobs! Worms! Tiny Swords! That is all. www.thepocketforge.com

You wouldn't forge a worm.

Ever wondered how worms are made? It was me all along!

Hello! It’s been a minute since I posted here- I’ve just been busy making tiny swords and other miniature gubbins. Check out my website to see what else I’ve been up to! www.Thepocketforge.com

So apparently I need to submit to age verification just to view my messages on Bluesky now, bollocks to that! I’ll be back on instagram, if you’ve messaged me here and I haven’t replied, just hit me up there www.instagram.com/thepocketfor...

Here’s some ASMR content! These are some brass bucklers that can be worn as rings. It’s nice to be able to do a bit of cold work on the anvil, even the induction forge makes my workshop a little foisty in this weather!

I’m still alive!!! I kind of forgot to post for a few weeks because the world is terrifying and I’m quite busy. But here are some recent pieces I’ve been working on that are available on my website (www.thepocketforge.com) if you want to support me and own a lil stabby doodah! #swords #miniature

Busy 2 day market weekend! Always good when it’s in your hometown and you can leave your table set up for the next day. If anyone is in Norwich UK, we are back tomorrow, so pop by!!!

Works in progress! A few different types of dagger that I hope to finish today- everything made by hand and no two will be quite the same #handmade #metalwork #WipWednesday #miniature

It’s insane for my car insurance company to think I care enough about them to read their monthly newsletter. The audacity.

This is what nearly 3 solid months of work looks like! I worked on these over the last 5 months amongst other projects, but these were all for a specific event and it’s weird how so much time fits into one tiny box. Time to get ready for Friday! #Miniature #Artsmarket #Swords #MetalFeed

More tiny tiny gubbins! The kris was a fun little challenge. I started with an attempt to carve a Buddha, but it turned into a monkey, which I felt was more appropriate. Not long now til the show! (Tiny violin made by Sergio Macedo Netto) #miniature #miniaturist #artsanscrafts

Getting closer to completing this extra tiny collection. If anyone in London wants to encounter me or my tiny swords in real life, I’ll be at Kensington Dollshouse Festival on the 16th and 17th May! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/kensington...

Ever wondered how a weaponised steel lute for a tiny battle bard is made? #Dnd #miniature #metalwork #metalfeed

Extra tiny zweifinger! I’m still getting to grips with 1/12 scale, but I’m pleased with how this one turned out without too much reduction in detail- here’s a 1/6 scale one I did a couple months ago for comparison!

Sorry, it’s been a MOMENT since I last posted here! Busy as always making lots of tiny things, trying to thrive as an art person in this silly little thing we’re still calling an economy! Here’s some highlights 1. Italian Billhook 2. A horseman’s axe 3. Assorted 1/12 scale swords 4. A hairpin sword

I kept seeing that nasty AI starter pack doll trend and it was great to see so many artists reject it by recreating it with actual hand drawn versions! I decided to make a physical one instead AI is a poisoned chalice. IP theft and environmental impact aside, it hurts art and you don’t need it!

First market done! It was a good event but we made a loss. It can happen, they are a gamble and sometimes you don’t sell enough to cover the costs of the table, fuel and parking costs, if the right customers don’t show. Long story short, there’s a 10% sale on my Etsy shop! 😅 thepocketforge.etsy.com

These are some medieval battle implements known as “bönks” or, as the French would say, “bonqués”! Steel, oak, leather and a pinch of copper #MetalFeed #Miniatures

More tiny stabby fellas!!!! It’s so nice to finally have good light outdoors for better photography. The guards and pommels were cast from bronze, which saved some time, although a couple I did forge and grind to final shape #Miniatures #Fantasy #Swords #Blacksmith #MetalFeed

Here are some tiny bonking implements, ideal for imbuing with holy might and bonking skeletons, both in and outside of living bods #Miniature #Dnd #Fantasy #Blacksmith

Bebe daggers! These are 12th scale, and probably the smallest I can go with hand forging. I also have to hand sand, because my belt sander gets a little too chummy with my fingernails

Tiny cinquedea! I’ve been horribly ill the last couple of weeks and had trouble focusing on one set of fullers and this one has 6! Might be something I try again in future as a brooch or pendant, it’s broadness lends itself to being blunt and dangly

Here’s a lil matching set with a slight swamp hag ranger feelio about it. Everything you need to battle through your favourite bog

This tiny fantasy sabre has what I like to call the streaky bacon grind! It looks impractical but it’s actually found in historical examples and essentially lengthens the cutting edge without lengthening the blade itself- a similar principle to a flamberge blade

Couple o’ tiny round Viking style shields! Despite what you might see on a lot of games and TV, the one on the left is not historically accurate as metal rims were not generally used, instead they were leather or rawhide like the one on the right!

Got a mixture of little projects underway, I’ve been too busy to post regularly but hopefully I’ll have a bunch of cool finished stuff to post about next week!!!

OH MY GOSH THIS IS MY TOY STORY MOMENT!!!!

A complete set of starter gear for a fresh DnD Group! I thought I’d work out how much this would cost both in game and IRL based on 5e pricing. Assuming pure gold and coin weight of 4.5 grams, 198 gold coins is about 891g. Gold costs £73.94/6 so this collection would be worth just over £65,880!!!

Physics are always a little skewiff on hand made items due to variance in materials.  It's perfectly normal. However, the smaller the scale, the bigger the difference said variances make.

A crossbow soo small that a “hair-trigger” is literal

Done a tiny crossbow today! Very satisfying getting that tiny trigger to clink smooth. Now experimenting with different bowstring lengths and tensions because the physics goes a little skewiff at this scale and I can’t rely purely on the flex of the arms or it’ll damage the wood

Some highlights from this week A quartet of 1/12 scale wood axes in various styles. Polymer clay Larry Bowlcut, my leading NPC in the DND game I run occasionally A little die for making tiny cup hilts A pair of tiny cup hilt rapiers, in 1/12 scale! Hope everyone has a great weekend #Miniatures

Finally finished these pieces! All fantasy based commissions, they required a bit more detail than normal so I carved the fittings out of wax and got them cast in bronze and silver. Wax carvings a whole new skill so hopefully I can get a little better at this and it’ll open up more possibilities!

It really baffles me that there are some incredibly skilled and talented artists out there who use their powers mainly just to create peaky blinders merch. I must scroll past at least 3 different artworks a day of Cillian Murphy wearing a flat cap in various mediums. Who owns these

Tiny bows! The challenge is that tiny wooden bows are way too fragile. Perhaps a wood-whisperer could successfully choose a perfect stave, season it and create something that’ll flex and not snap but I am a clumberous oaf with hams for hands, so instead my tiny bows will be forged from leaf springs!

Wow, kind of personal 🤣

I love it! Currently picturing a wall of shelves displaying dozens of different mini swords like this. And the reaction of any Borrower-sized adventurer stumbling upon such a find.

ZweiFINGERRRR *wah waaaah wah* (muted trumpet) This lil gubbins was slightly too big to fit into the gift box, so I made a display stand as an apology. I always forget that traditional blacksmithing is hard and I never practice so it was nice figuring out this simple design

Here’s a tiny zweifinger that’s currently in the works! The flamberge type blade in these types of swords always varies, but in most cases I’ve seen the spine is straight and doesn’t actually follow the undulations of the edges, which makes for interesting and slightly awkward geometry

Here’s an awesome knifemaker who I know from IG and just found on here! Follow the Slacksmith!!!!