KPTV Fox 12 News
Around the House NW. Hot for your House. Saturday, January 13th, 2024.
Eric stops by the Vonhelmick Knife Company in Falls City, where Gordon Hanson shows how he hand-forges blades. Learn more at vonhelmickknives.com KPTV Fox 12 News Around the House NW: Hot for your House
Vancouver Family Magazine
NW GETAWAY: GREAT OAKS FOOD TRAIL, WILLAMETTE VALLEY, OREGON
October 1, 2023 By Emily Corak
During one of my trips, I learned about the Vonhelmick Knife Company located in quiet Falls City, Oregon. Owners Gordon and Dusty Rose Hanson own an Air BnB space and teach others how to forge their own knives. I spent the day in their shop, working with Gordon, an experienced bladesmith, learning how to use anvils and hammering my own slab of steel. The day started with some nerves and more than a little self-doubt, but ended with a feeling of strength and empowerment. I now have a knife in my drawer that I made myself! Gordon was calm and patient throughout the process, and both Hansons were welcoming and proud of what they have to offer. “We love being a part of this community and getting to offer a unique dynamic,” they say. “We get to learn about people and cultures from all over the USA and we get to help people forge a memory they can share with family and friends forever.”
Travel Oregon
Great Oaks Food Trail
July 10, 2023 Publication
Vonhelmick Knife Company is family owned and operated in Falls City, Oregon. Buy handcrafted knives, or sign up for a class to make your own. You can also rent out their guest house that’s next to their bladesmith shop.
Scenic Sips & Local Bounty
West Salem to Falls City to Amity
Tour farms and restaurants along a picturesque countryside.
Jumpstart your morning at West Salem Farmers Market, open Thursdays from May to mid-September, where you’ll find fresh produce and handmade products.
Continue to the picturesque Eola-Amity Hills and Bjornson Vineyard, where you can bring your own picnic to enjoy alfresco near the property’s 20-foot waterfall. If you’re in the mood for craft beer, stick to West Salem’s Xicha Brewing to indulge your senses in Latin American flavors and culture.
Make your way to Amity to Blue Raeven Farmstand, a must-stop for handmade seasonal pies and local goods. Next, take a scenic drive out to Brooks Winery to sample award-winning sustainable wines in a rustic tasting room. Round out your afternoon with smiles at Wings & A Prayer Alpacas, where you can meet alpacas or shop for the softest socks and scarves you’ll ever own.
Continue to Dallas for a pick-me-up: a sweet treat of local sheep’s milk ice cream at Dreamies Creamery. Finish out the day in Falls City with a knife-forging demonstration at Vonhelmick Knife Co. and handmade wood-fired pizza at The Bread Board. Return to Amity and rest easy in your top-floor flat for an overnight stay at Amity Flats, a restored historic Masonic Lodge.
Why Not Pick Up a Hobby on Your Next Weekend Away in Oregon?
Forge a knife in Falls City, milk a cow in Sandy, learn archery in Ashland, and more
The pandemic has made hobbyists out of all of us. You have your sourdough starters, your Animal Crossingers, your burgeoning green thumbs, and aspiring guitarists. And as COVID-19 has waxed and waned (and waxed and waned) some of those hobbies may have fallen by the wayside.
But maintaining a hobby is not only a way to tap out from the daily caseload, it can also be incredibly rewarding. (Learning a new skill and getting outside are also welcome bonuses.) Across Oregon you’ll find tons of folks looking to share the wisdom they’ve acquired from years in their respective trades, many of whom have signed on to host workshops, lessons and the like via AirBnB’s Experiences platform. From forging a utility kitchen knife to finding out you’re pretty good with a bow and arrow, here are a few Oregonians ready to help you find a new hobby during your next jaunt out of town.
At host Gordon Hanson’s blacksmithing workshop in Falls City, just southwest of Salem, you’ll learn how to shape steel into a fully functional, artisan blade. Using European anvils and 1095 high carbon steel, guests can create one of two blade styles: an everyday or utility kitchen knife. The whole process takes about eight to nine hours, and guests should wear protective flame-resistant clothing (such as denim or cotton) and bring their own lunch. The hosts also have a nearby three-acre tiny home available to stay in. If booked along with the knife-making experience, guests receive 15 percent off their stay.
— Gabriel Granillo, Portland Monthly, January 19, 2022
Guests get fired up forging knives at Falls City AirBnB
Popularity grew after anonymous stay by celebrity chef
Not many entrepreneurs see their business grow thanks to an anonymous visit by a celebrity. Such was the case for Gordon and Dusty Rose Hanson.
At the end of a country dirt driveway, up into the hills above Falls City, they’d first built a tiny home for her mother that then became a rental in November of 2020. Then they packaged it in January 2021 with the small workshop Gordon uses to forge knives, to create an AirBnB experience where guests can leave with their own hand crafted knives, they made themselves from start to finish. Then, an anonymous stranger changed everything over a Thanksgiving three-day weekend.
“We were doing pretty well. Then we had a guest stay who didn’t know the forge was there. And we didn’t know who he was,” Gordon recalled. “He happened to be a guy named Kenji López-Alt, a famous chef and New York Times contributor.
“Kenji asked if he could make a knife. Up to that point, he was just a guy staying with us. The next day after we had forged a knife, he asked if it was okay if he posted some of this stuff,” Gordon said.
He said sure, not realizing López-Alt had over million YouTube followers and more than 350,000 Instagram subscribers.
“A lot of people have come because of his influence and that’s helped a lot for the business,” Gordon added.
Take for example, this past weekend, Kristin Schlaback and Dan Kronish. They flew out from Denver, Colorado, to participate in Gordon’s knife-making class.”
— David Hayes, Polk Itemizer Observer, February 23, 2022
