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Blacksmithing is one of the most important vocations in human history. The name “blacksmith” refers to one who works with black iron, as opposed to other metal craftsmen such as coppersmiths, silversmiths and goldsmiths.
Blacksmithing – the shaping of black iron - began with the Iron Age, when primitive man first began making tools from abundant iron ore. In western Asia and Egypt this was before 1000 BC. Virtually all world cultures entered their own Iron Age, each on their own timetable and the utilization of iron as tools and weapons was a vital step in the progress of world civilizations.
Blacksmith is known as The King of Crafts, as the blacksmith made most of the tools for the other crafts, and the blacksmith was a vital person in every village, so much so that he was always given the best location for his workshop, and was also given the power to marry people. Blacksmiths worked with iron to make or repair the tools that were necessary for farming (including horse and oxen shoes) and for the myriad enterprises in the shops of the villages and towns. Smiths also made the tools that were necessary for the daily household chores, such as pots and pans for the fireplace. The blacksmith played a vital role in society for two thousand years, and even the advent of the Industrial Revolution around 1850 meant overtime for the smith's shop - lots of new factories needing lots of specialized tools meant lots of hammering for decades to come.
Gradually, though, the Industrial Age started to jeopodize the blacksmith’s very existence, as machines became more advanced and could produce ironwork faster and cheaper than by hand. At first, the blacksmith was not aware that his hammer would soon ring no more, that machines would take the place of hammer and anvil, more efficiently creating the tools and weapons for an increasingly sophisticated cultural milieu. But the advent of the electric welder revolutionized the way pieces of steel were joined together, foundries could produce large quantities of products by casting molten steel into moulds, machines could stamp out pieces in staggering quantities, and soon the blacksmith became an endangered species.
In 1970 a group of concerned American blacksmiths met in Georgia, USA and in their desire to keep blacksmithing alive formed the Artist-Blacksmith’s Association of North America, which now has a membership of over 4000, a glossy quarterly magazine, and promotes blacksmithing by holding conventions, offering scholarships to students studying blacksmithing, and assisting local groups to form smaller associations. Thanks, in part, to this group of concerned people, there are now other blacksmithing organizations around the world. There are many craft schools now teaching blacksmithing, and there are many books and instructional videos available.
Although there is still a small amount of industrial blacksmithing carried out, mostly blacksmithing has become more of an art form. No matter how sophisticated machines become, there is still no substitute for the look and feel of a truly hand-crafted piece of ironwork. Heating steel in a forge and hammering it into shape produces a unique piece, slightly different than the one before it and the one after it. It may be a complicated or simple piece, but it still bears the touch of the craftsman. As an art form, blacksmithing is here to stay!
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