January 12, 201115 yr What is the main difference between a blacksmith and a whitesmith, and what requirements must you meet to become a whitesmith? I've heard this topic discussed among friends and would like some additional input from the folks here.
January 13, 201115 yr black vs white, a black smith works in black metals, steel and iron. while a white smith works in white metals, silver and pewter. I'm sure theres more to it than that, but that is the basic idea that comes from the names
January 13, 201115 yr Whitesmithing describes filed work that was previously forged to basic shape. Donald Streeter's book, "Professional Smithing" has a whole chapter devoted to it; starts on pg 29... ;)
January 13, 201115 yr Like HW says, Whitesmith refers to things that are finished from the forged state; so locks and keys, interior hardware of the "upscale" type, etc. Folks who work silver are silversmiths not whitesmiths.
January 13, 201115 yr From what I understand a whitesmith a the finishing person.They did all the grinding,filing,finishing and sanding that removed all the scale and other signs of the fire so the piece was returned to bright metal. Those who worked in white metals were either tinsmiths,silversmiths,cutlers or a host of other names. When the blacksmith was done he handed the forging to the whitesmith to finish.Nowadays we might call them the grinding crew or the prep crew,as in prepare for paint crew. Not sure if the buffers/polishers would be rolled into this type of work.They`re an old bunch and usually eat their lunch by themselves anyway. ;)
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