From the time our ancient human ancestors discovered that metal could be shaped into useful tools, civilization was forever changed. At the center of every community, and its most valued member, was the blacksmith. The blacksmith played an integral role from the beginnings of new settlements to their ongoing existence. Without the blacksmith, there would be none who could make axes for collecting fire wood, or repair or create other metal tools and objects from horse shoes to plows, so necessary to a community's existence.
Blacksmiths didn't just create useful, functional tools. More than simple metal workers, they were true artisans, embellishing their works with designs and decoration that went beyond function. Intricately inlaid works of art, forged into complex shapes have been discovered at archaeological sites worldwide demonstrating extraordinary skill and creativity.
Blacksmiths in the Past
In the United States, the blacksmith was an essential profession right up until the mid-1800s, the time of the Civil War. With the subsequent advent of industrialization that manufactured iron tools en masse with the railroads built to transport them, the community blacksmith became less necessary. By the early 1900s, the birth of the automobile and mechanized farming resulted in the profession of the tool-producing blacksmith becoming all but extinct.
However, the blacksmith as artist survived to create metal works of art combined with function. Intricately designed, forged staircase railings, wrought iron chandeliers, metal fences and elaborate gates, and detailed window grills became the forte of the “new” blacksmith, gracing much of the finest architecture of the 20th century.
What Blacksmith Do
The process of blacksmithing then and now is actually described in its name. “Smith” is derived from the word “smite”, meaning “to hit”. Therefore a smith is one who employs hitting and pounding to create a finished product. An artisan who works with copper is referred to as a coppersmith, one who creates gold items is a goldsmith, etc. Iron and steel metals are black in color, so the artisan who shapes those metals is a blacksmith.
A blacksmith's primary tool is the hammer and his anvil is his desk! With his fire and bellows a malleable metal such as wrought iron in a forge until it reaches a point where it can be shaped, the blacksmith can hammer it into a desired shape without it breaking or cracking. It requires strength to apply enough force and great skill to strike it with exacting accuracy. A blacksmith also has to work quickly before the metal cools to a point it can no longer be shaped.
The blacksmith hammers the hot iron from different angles and with varying force to create a shape. It can mean bending it to form a corner or a curve. The blacksmith can hammer the heated iron to make it thinner, called “drawing” the metal, or the sides of the iron can be hammered to make it thicker and shorter, know as “upsetting”. Hammering two pieces of heated metal together to create one piece is referred to as “hammer welding”.
Wrought iron has been the traditional metal of blacksmiths. It has a high melting point with a plastic-like texture, making it ideally malleable when subjected to extreme heat. The word “wrought” is defined as shaping a metal by hammering, bending, and twisting, so wrought iron is both the name of the metal and the process by which it's shaped.
Unfortunately, the metal known as wrought iron is no longer readily made per se, at least not within a mass production mode. Producing the metal is an expensive and labor intensive process that has been replaced with the less expensive and easier to produce steel. The most commonly available wrought iron is old scrap metal, making it generally unavailable. Blacksmiths now work primarily with mild steel that can be forged and shaped similarly to wrought iron. Therefore, a rustic lighting product usually described as wrought iron is a reference to the process rather than the material it is actually made from! The finish and quality of most “wrought iron” products remains consistent though sadly they are not made from "actually wrought” iron any longer.
Artist-Blacksmiths in the Present
Though there is a significant variety of manufactured metal artwork available today, there are still blacksmiths who continue to utilize the ancient methods of the trade combined with modern technology to create unique works of art. Blacksmith artists create pieces that range from rustic decorative art to elaborately designed furniture and your traditional wrought iron chandelier. Being made by hand, no two pieces are ever identical, with unequaled charm and value.
