What Does a Blacksmith do?

Blacksmith

The profession of “blacksmith” may seem like the kind of thing you only see in 19^th Century western movies, but it’s a profession that still exists today. While the reasons for blacksmithing have changed, the basics of the trade have not.

Blacksmiths are professionals that work with metals, such as iron or steel, shaping it into different items. Some blacksmiths shape metal for decorative purposes, while others do it for professional purposes, developing shaped metal for many different companies and uses.

To become a blacksmith, one must become proficient at using the tools that help shape the metal they are working with. While blacksmiths no longer make the same things they made 100 years ago—including nails, wrought-iron furniture, tools, weapons, and more—they are still in relatively high demand because they are somewhat rare, and they often possess superior skills in working with steel supplies and other metals.

Blacksmiths will use heat to make metal pliable, then a hard surface such an anvil, and tools like a hammer to refine the metal and create the desired shape. For the most part, blacksmith tools are very simple, and the finished product is entirely dependent on the skills and artistry of the practitioner.

In order to create ideal conditions for shaping metal, blacksmiths use experience and skill to judge the temperature by the color of metal as it’s heating. As a result, blacksmiths often work in very low-light conditions, which may seem counterintuitive when you consider that they create such beautiful pieces of art and decorative metal.

 

Several decades ago when the majority of families in the United States lived on a farm, many farmers were themselves amateur blacksmiths, crafting different tools using steel supplies or iron for use around the farm. Today we no longer need to make our own rakes, shovels, axes, and knives, and the availability of machines to create most of the functional tools we use today at homes and in factories, combined with the fact that most people no longer live on a farm, means most blacksmiths now focus on creating more decorative pieces of metal. Some of the most common projects include gates, grills, railings, and sculptures, accessories such as hinges and iron accents, or furniture and ornaments for decorative purposes. At a place like Wasatch Steel, a steel supermarket,  blacksmith can find any materials s/he may need. The handmade beauty and skill of these pieces is often what drives the demand for the metals.

Another specialty area where some blacksmiths work is creating custom horseshoes. Basic horseshoes are made in factories today, but they must be custom-fitted to the horse by a skilled blacksmith. Properly fitted horseshoes can often contribute to strong, healthy horses, while ill-fitting ones can contribute to lame horses that suffer from leg conditions. While we often refer to someone who works with horseshoes as a “blacksmith”, the official term for this profession is actually a farrier.

With a forge, hammer, anvil, and some tongs, blacksmiths today are still able to create beautiful metal with steel and iron, and while the times have changed, the skillful art that is required to be a master blacksmith remains the same. Visit Wasatch Steel for any of your Steel needs - http://wasatchsteel.com/