History of Blacksmithing

Blacksmithing involves the shaping of iron, which is only possible when the metal is heated to a very high temperature. Since iron is a very strong metal, weapons and tools made from it are superior to those made out of stone or copper. So societies who knew how to work with iron dominated those who didn't beginning as early as 1000 B.C. when there were Egyptian and Asian blacksmiths. The craft remained of huge importance until the Industrial Revolution at the end of the nineteenth century. Now, blacksmithing has been revived as an artistic craft.

Identification

The earliest blacksmiths created conical stone furnaces called "bloomeries" in which they burned charcoal to heat iron ore. To make the fire hot, they used bellows to pump in air. When the furnace reached 2,800 degrees F, the iron would be malleable enough to be shaped into things like spears, chariots, plow blades and axes.
When blacksmiths hammer and fold the hot iron, they are working in wrought iron. When they pour the molten iron into molds, they are working in cast iron. Until the eighteenth century, blacksmiths used charcoal as fuel, and later coke became the fuel of choice because it burned hotter longer.

Types

Blacksmithing was so essential a craft that all of the European explorers traveled with at least one blacksmith on their team. Blacksmithing subdivided during the Middle Ages into several different trades. Armorers made armor and shields that knights and other soldiers wore into battle. Bladesmiths made swords and knives. Locksmiths made locks for doors, trunks and safes. Gunsmiths made iron guns. Perhaps the most familiar blacksmiths in early America were the farriers, whose products were horseshoes and other items essential to equestrian life.

Function

Colonial American blacksmiths also frequently functioned as village dentists. They also made axes, plows, nails and hoops for barrels. All of these essential items were in huge demand as the new country moved west, building houses and wagons predominantly out of wood. Blacksmiths were also in great demand to make the hardware used in eighteenth century sailing ships. The craft was passed on from master blacksmiths to boy apprentices, who began learning the it when they were about 6 or 7 years old.

Time Frame

One very successful family blacksmithing business was owned by the Studebakers. Before they became involved in the early automobile industry, they made conestoga wagons. Another brand that remains a household name today, John Deere, was a blacksmith who developed a steel plow in 1838. His invention was one of the first signs that the demand for things made from iron was decreasing. The shift happened with the development of the mass-produced machines that made the Industrial Revolution possible. For example, in 1800, every nail had to be hand-forged by a blacksmith, but by the 1850s, nail factories were producing cut nails for sale by the pound.

Potential

The United States military phased out blacksmiths as of 1910, the same time that factories stopped using them. So for the greater part of the twentieth century, blacksmithing was in danger of becoming a lost art. By the 1970s, however, a revival of the craft was in full swing, inspired, partially, by the work of Francis Whitaker. The Artists Blacksmith Association of North America boasts a membership of more than 5,000 blacksmiths. Its resurgence has been advanced by a market for decorative ironwork and by the classes offered by masters who have kept the craft alive (see Resources below).

Resources

• Appalachian Blacksmiths Association
• Artists Blacksmith Association of North America