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I Forge Iron

The Blacksmith's Image


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Johannes, how far back are your "old days"? Does this hold true for the 1400's as well? A lot of our ideas are from the last 100 years or so and things changed quite a bit over time.


I'm pretty sure it aplies almost to 200 y back,
and in some cases allot further, it is true that in 1400 there where specialised blacksmiths, armourers,blade smiths, farriers.. but they would be in service of nobles, who had them on site, and payed well for these master craftsmen. in the villages, and for the common man, the blacksmith was the same guy whoe also shoe'd your horse (if you where even able to affort one to help you plow the farm) , fixed or sharpend your knife, and made the hinges for your front door (and in some area's the guy you went to to expell bad spirits... but thats an athor story).
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I think this has already been mentioned, but movies are the problem. Somebody said Pirates of the Carabean. Orlando Bloom plays a blacksmith and all he makes is swords. There are dozens of them all over his shop. The only thing the camers zoom on is swords. The same thing goes with hores shoes. How many times do you see some western movie, and there is a blacksmith in the background shoing some cowboys stallion?

The kidsmith,
Dave Custer
"It's not the fact that you're dead that counts but only how did you die."

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Actually in the middle ages most specialists were in the cities and the Nobles came to them to order armour, swords, etc. Of course some kings/emporers set up armourmaking shops that would then do work for them as well as for other people---like the Greenwich Armoury in England in the Renaissance.

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You know its funny but a lot of the old smiths around here fit the "sterotype"..Big burly,barrel chested with a beard that hung to his belt. My uncle grew up around one called "Big Eaf" My uncle said he could pick his anvil up over his head and it was no small anvil either. Smiths are far few and between here now. That just reinforces the sterotype. A few home taught farriers, thats about it.

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I just started to daddle in blacksmithing a couple of years ago.I was having some trouble getting my coal forge lit,so I decided to see if I could find a demonstration on you-tube.
What I found was a bunch of hits on how to "light the forge" is some on-line role playing game.
I am not sure if on-line roll playing games play a role in shaping young people's image of blacksmiths,but maybe.
I do not personaly know anybody that plays such games to inquire about this matter.

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Role playing games are popular with the younger (and sometimes not so younger) folks. The problem with role playing games, is you have to do what the game developer thinks is proper to advance to the next level. Some of the game developers have done their homework, some have watched Hollywood movies.

Many RPG blacksmiths are becoming interested in the real thing and finding that accumulating points is not the same as physically holding a hammer, and using the hammer to move hot metal. How they got interested in real blacksmithing is not important. We need to provide accurate information to their questions and encourage them to learn. They then take this knowledge back to the role playing game to educate others.

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I had an RPG/video game designer consult me as to how to forge a sword---starting with *ore* and ending with a finished hilted blade. He was not amused when I told him a single person or even a single shop would have never done that. Single authorship is a VERY modern thing in the knife and sword biz!

Oh yes it had to only take 5 hours too...

I've had a few students who "knew all about forging blades cause they had done it in video/RPG games". So I let them get to it---very humourous but hard on the equipment...

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Glenn, good point. Everquest 2 is a good example of this. I was taken by rpgs for a while and although my barbarian berserker enjoyed forging weapons and armor made of such things as 'blackened iron', I think he spent most of his time making household items. I would run around and gather components for hours then run back to my guild and forge these components into more components and so on and so fourth until finally I had made an arrowhead, candle holder or 'super duper sword of death' .:rolleyes:. I can remember camping (means leaving the game) and telling my group that I had to go meet my brother at the forge, which led to a whole lot of oohhhs and ahhhhhs along with some intelligent conversation about the how, where and why of my love of smithing. I have since put away the EQ2 hat as I began to feel that it was just not the best use of what little time it feels like I have, but I am still a nerd at heart and will always think Dwarven Smiths (Sindri or Brok anyone??) are cool. Anyway one thing I can say is that nothing compares to the actual feel of the hammer in hand, but without my imagination, life would not be near as fun. Swords or candle holders it does not matter to me and someday maybe I will be able to 'know it all' :D. At least I will try my darndest,.. and yes, I am often asked if I shoe horses or if I can make a sword, to which I usually reply not yet but maybe one day.

So what does it matter if a someone asks? How else would they learn??

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Another game that I love is Elder scrolls Morrowind/ Oblivion that has had the blacksmithing skills, but I don't think I was interested so much in how it was done, just the possibility that it could produce. You know, what you could dream to make. It wasn't until I happened by a Smith demonstrating in a celtic festival that the reality of the skill and finesse of the trade shown through and since then I've been head over heals about the trade, I found VA guild then by then I found Here and have been filled with more than enough information and leads to expand my knowledge and experience. I think that's what I love about it all, the sound of the blown fire the smell of hot iron and the sweat and soreness that accompanies sucess or sucessful faliures :-p Aside from personal growth, I don't like the idea of a blacksmith becoming as mythical as Paul bunyon or john henry to my kids. I want them to see the real and be fascinated with it. IT is a beautiful thing this trade. Just want to pass it on. :)

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  • 12 years later...

Hey guys.

So I want talk about how the blacksmith seems to be perceived for those that do not have contact with a professional blacksmith or simply only know the craft from TV shows and movies.

I found  a thread related to what I want to talk about, but it's dead since 2008 and that's why I'm starting a new one. See note

It seems, to me, that people generally perceive blacksmiths as weapon-makers and I think that movies are to blame for that - the magnificent artistry of the craft is basically never present on movies. Most of the times we simply see the "blacksmith" hitting a piece of hot metal like this trying to break it in half and that's that...

TV shows seem to contribute to this a lot too... You can take a show like "Forged in Fire" and all the aesthetic revolves around fire, sparks, brute force, tattoos and heavy metal music. Just look at their marketing pics. See, I'm not trying to judge the quality of the stuff being produced by the professionals on the show, neither am I trying to say that the professionals are unqualified or don't know what they are doing. 

Obviously there's nothing wrong with heavy metal music and tattoos - that's personal - and there actually are sparks, fire and brute force on a blacksmith shop - it's just the case that these are not the things that defines the craft IMO.

What I want to know is what you guys that are on the craft, that live from the craft and that know the craft inside out think about all this.

I also believe that this misconception about the craft is stronger here in Brazil, as blacksmithing was never a big part of our culture. You can get to Instagram and check some really awful examples of what the blacksmith/bladesmith aesthetic looks like... I could give some examples, but that would not be delicate of me.

For me, this whole heavy-metal-long-beards-sparks-and-flames thing just does not fit. What you guys think about this?

 

Mod: This has been merged with original post, there is no reason to have more than one thread on the same topic

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Here in the USA the misconceptions of the craft are based a lot on our "frontier" history. Whereas in Europe and the UK smithing was broken down into a lot of subfields; when you were the only smith around you tended to be a generalist.

I was once touring Marksburg Castle in Germany and they had a smithy built into the wall of the castle. Another American family was on the tour as well and the father was pointing to the forge and anvil and telling the kids that that is where the swords and armour for the castle were made.  The guide interrupted and told him that the swords and armour came from specialist smiths in Nuremberg and the smithy in the castle was just for everyday things needed for the castle.  You can probably guess what the  Helmschmied of Augsburg family were famed for.

Modern media tends to lead us astray as well. I remember in Pirates of the Caribbean where they had a colonial smith making high end swords when the blade would have been imported from Europe just like barrels full of knife blades would be shipped from Sheffield England to 19th century USA for hilting and sale.  (As for the "Folded Steel";  it probably would have been shear steel and so the cook might also be using a shear steel blade!)

There is a reason that typical weapons for peasant levies were spears and axes and there is two places in the Bible mentioning turning plowshares into swords and pruning hooks into spears and only one going the *other* way!

 

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That's the first thing I get asked is "Do you make knives?" That's after they get a shock that I'm a female blacksmith of course. I certainly don't fit into the stereotypical blacksmith image. Im 5'2 1/2"  if I'm  lucky and no beard or big muscles :D I do have a few tattoos though. This makes me think of "A Knights Tale". I love that movie, but Kate the blacksmith 'forging' a cold horseshoe and going, tap, tap tap on it is utterly ridiculous. 

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Well back over 35 years ago I spent a year apprenticed to a sword maker---6 days a week in his shop, no pay but 2 meals a day with his family.  So when people ask me "Can you make me a sword?"  I say "Sure hop onto the forge and once you are glowing red I'll hammer you out..." haven't had any takers, yet.

Now the interesting thing about female blacksmiths in medieval/renaissance times is that there are Guild regulations stating that a Woman can only work in the smithy of her Father, Husband or Brother.  Pretty good evidence that there were some outliers; so they thought they needed an official rule against them...  And of course there are those paintings/illuminations of Women forging nails due to a "medieval urban legend" about the crucifixion.

eg: the circa 1330 Holkham Bible: https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/med-women-blacksmiths-l.jpeg

Also Katherine of Bury was paid 8d a day to "keep up the King's forge in the Tower and carry on the work of the forge"  (While the regular staff was on campaign with Edward III.)

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That when they went to a smith to get the nails forged for the crucifixion; he kept giving excuse after excuse about why he couldn't do it---until finally his wife took up the hammer and made them.  There are a couple of Renaissance paintings of the crucifixion that have a sub painting showing a woman forging the nails. (Dressed in totally inappropriate clothing for working at the forge of course...)

There are a number of such "urban legends" about the crucifixion; perhaps you have heard of the Romani one about the "fourth nail"?

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I often get asked if I shoe horses by adults and make swords by young boys when I'm demonstrating. Depending on my read of the person asking I might make a joke or straight answer. Reading the mood of the audience is an important aspect of demonstrations.

The makers of movies and TV shows rarely know anything about the subject of the production: blacksmithing, sailing, flying, rocketry, history. Forged in Fire (FIF) is a "Reality TV" game show and from the IFI members who've participated what happens is honestly presented. Sure, it's a given that at least one competitor is a good enough bladesmith to produce a "winner." Usually they try to get two competitors good enough to have a real contest for the final blade. 

You weren't here when FIF was new and all the complaints of there not being enough forging being shown and how it could be a good educational tool for beginners. I think it took a while to sink in that FIF is entertainment, not educational TV. That's why they have BIG forges shooting lots of dragon's breath and let contestants cut springs and whatever in a vise in the middle of the room instead of having a cutting area to control flying sparks and chips. 

As Thomas says the tradition of American vs. European blacksmith's craft is very different. In frontier days American smiths made mostly tools and hardware, Solo shop with maybe a local youths as helpers were more common. In Europe a small village smithy might have 4-6 men working their specialty and assisting the others. There's an excellent episode of a Discovery or History channel program called "The Last Knife Maker In Sheffield" that demonstrates the European tradition of blacksmithing. One man forged knife blanks (preforms) I don't recall if heat treating was a specialist's job, or done by the shop master,  another ground them, another, polished them another made guards and pommels and maybe handles. I don't recall clearly who finished the knives, maybe the master or maybe a specialist. The blades were sharpened by a specialist IIRC in another shop.

What we watch on: TV, read in literature, etc. is urban myth for the most part, often so altered from reality from dramatic appeal as to have as much real connection to the blacksmith's craft as fly fishing.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

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