For Phill and Chandi Rhodes, the experience of knife-making and welding at Cuppacumbalong was all new.
"You're on your feet all day and you don't even realise it. It's the end of the day and you're keen to keep going because you're so engaged," Mrs Rhodes said.
The Jervis Bay couple was among a group taking part in a workshop for veterans and their families at the historichomestead just outside Tharwa.
Over three days, the group, which came together from regional NSW, worked to make leather aprons, an Argentinian-style asado barbecue and a knife, all fashioned from scratch. They also learned how to cook on wood fire, giving them the skills to put what they made into use when they went home.
The workshop - which was funded by a $57,600 Department of Veterans' Affairs grant - was an opportunity to find a new creative outlet, participants said.
Program organiser Mark Toogood said seeing veterans take what seemed at first like an immutable piece of metal and shaping it into a knife was particularly fulfilling.
Mr Toogood, who left the military with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2009, now oversees hands-on workshops for other veterans at Cuppacumbalong Homestead, run by the team behind the Tharwa Valley Forge.
He said workshop participants usually found themselves working in ways they did not think they could and tackling projects they would never have otherwise attempted.
Making something, like taking a piece of metal through the processes of knife making, was a hands-on and beneficial process, Mr Toogood said.
"I guess we have the saying, 'We don't make mistakes here, we just make smaller knives'. I think that's a bit of a life lesson as well. You might have all these pieces going on, you can make your future out of what you have in front of you. I guess that's a little bit of a lesson for me that I got from knife making," he said.
Mr Rhodes said while it was a group of people connected by a history of service, it did not dominate the conversation.
"Yeah, it's voluntary. Some of the guys have bonded over that, but they're not forcing it on us. ... They leave it up to you to be as open or closed as you choose to be. Respectful, is what I'd say. It's here if we want it," he said.
Mr Rhodes said adjusting to life outside the military was difficult, and it was a tough process to explain.
"You're kind of institutionalised and you're wound up all the time. It's hard to get out of that after decades or more of being in that environment," he said.
Taking part in a workshop which encouraged creativity was beneficial, Mr Rhodes said.
For Michael Schlatter, a former high-ranking army officer, knife making has been a long-held interest.
"I had appendicitis, and my father, who was an infantry soldier, bought me a knife as a get-well present. I thought it was a bit strange, but he obviously knew me better than I knew myself at seven years old," Mr Schlatter said.
Getting together with others and sharing in that process was a good opportunity to hear how others, especially younger veterans, had found their time in the military, he said.
Veterans' Affairs Minister Darren Chester said when the grants were announced in July the funding was to support activities that reduced social isolation.
"Social connectedness is a vital part of improving the mental health of veterans and their families," Mr Chester said.
Former Australian Defence Force members can apply for two more workshops, which will be held in January and February.
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