Blacksmithing
A Third Age Crafts feature
by our Interests, Hobbies & Pastimes Editor

Blacksmithing is the process whereby a Blacksmith creates decorative and functional metalwork objects from iron or steel by hot forging the metal (shaping the metal by hammering) into its required shape.

Today’s Blacksmith will typically make gates, railings, staircases and both decorative and functional items for the home and garden such as door furniture and light fittings as well as garden chairs and tables and ornate garden ornaments.

Along with other traditional crafts, Blacksmithing has recently witnessed a resurgence in popularity as people cope to struggle with life in the 21st century, and as a result desire to get back to a more traditional way of living, and to the days when the Blacksmith’s forge would have been the centre of any community.

The traditional Blacksmith would have held a position of considerable respect within any community being engineer, toolmaker, cart and wagon maker and not infrequently, dentist, undertaker, vet and horse trader. He would also have frequently been called upon to hold important local offices, such was the esteem given the local Blacksmith.

Blacksmithing and metalworking can be easier than you would imagine, claim the publishers of Practical Blacksmithing and Metalworking. This book shows you how – with some patience and a working knowledge of metals, tools, and techniques – Blacksmithing can be a rewarding, inexpensive hobby.

Using simple instructions and first-rate, detailed illustrations, the book’s author makes it easy for the novice to learn this craft, while offering project variations complex enough to challenge even the experienced Blacksmith or metalworker.

Percy W Blandford is an internationally recognized master craftsman. A full-time freelance journalist and Fellow to the Institute of Journalists, he is the author or more than eighty books on the subject.

For those in their Third Age who would like to learn Blacksmithing first hand, Blacksmithing Courses are available in most areas.