TV blacksmith Rod Hughes will step back in history to the days of Poldark and beyond when he demonstrates the art of making pirate cutlasses on the beachfront in St Ives during this year's September Festival.

For six days Rod and his crew – master blacksmith Wez Coles and young apprentices Nathan Sparks and Amy Smith – will wheel their Victorian handcart down to the beach area by Pednolva Walk.

Nicknamed 'To Hayle in a handcart', it will be loaded with hammers, a period forge, furnace and anvils which will be set up on the beach to demonstrate their craft.

"Expect pirate cutlasses, outrageous armour, a few skulls and the odd tot of rum," said Rod.

He will also team up with Cornwall-based film 'legend' Terry English, from Angarrack, who has created armour and costumes for various films including Excalibur, Aliens and King Arthur, to forge 'Cutlasses on the Beach'.

"Pednolva in the late 16th, early 17th century was a notorious area frequented by pirates, smugglers and ne’r-do-wells," said Rod who will be forging cutlasses and trinkets for passers-by.

"I am looking forward to coming to this year’s Festival to demonstrate how their weapons and cutlasses would have been made," he said.

"With Poldark just concluded, viewers have had the chance to see and experience historic Cornwall and I hope to recreate some of the skills in metal from this historic past."

Rod, a newcomer to the September Festival this year, said: "This is the first time I have visited the Festival as a participant but it is a natural continuation of the relationship I have with Cornwall and my friends here."

Despite coming to the profession late, he has earned a reputation as a master craftsman of historical reproductions with his work showcased in museums throughout the country.

What started out as a part-time interest has developed into an amazing late career for Rod who said: "You wouldn't expect there would be much call for swords in today’s high-tech world, but swords are iconic, ageless and shaped the world we live in.

"I make accurate historic replicas for museums, re-enactors, films and dramas. I also make fantasy blades and my own new designs.

"I undertake one major teaching event each year and a small amount of private tuition but what I really enjoy is film and TV featuring my work and craft.

"My style is sculptural and I hope elegant. I enjoy making the hilts as much as the blades and to do this I work in many materials - wood, horn, bone, leather, jewels and all sorts of cast, wound and inlayed metals such as bronze, copper, pewter, silver and gold."

Rod will be at Pednolva Walk - now more commonly known as Lambeth Walk - between 10am and 4pm from from Monday September 16 to Thursday the 19th and will be staying until 9pm on Friday and Saturday the 20th and 21st for evening demonstrations of his craft.

Working from his Viking-style forge in Surrey, which he constructed from local timber, he was one of the stars of the TV show Forged in Fire which explored Britain’s blacksmithing community.

He has also made TV programmes about swords for the History Channel and Discovery Channel and was one of the six modern makers going back in time to make 'The Victorian House of Arts and Crafts' for Lion TV for BBC2 Arts.

"I think there is an elegance and beauty in creting something as dangerous as a sword," he said.

"Short in size and well protected at the handle cutlasses were perfect for close combat," added Rod, who established his Cornwall links by depicting the Mermaid of Zennor on the hilt of the cutlass he created for a TV programme.

"The cutlass has a beautiful blade but the sculptural aspect is the bronze hilt which depicts the legend of the Mermaid of Zennor," he added.