HISTORY
OF THE BLACKSMITH
Today many people associate blacksmithing solely with shoeing
horses. While one who shoes horses "is" a blacksmith, he is specifically
called a Farrier. This is just one small part of the trade. Contemporary
blacksmiths are artisans, craftsmen and professionals. Using all of the
modern day equipment available and the historic skills of the past, a
blacksmith can create a myriad of forms from his anvil and forge as well
as with his power tools. A blacksmith my create sculptures, structural
forms, decorative pieces, and utilitarian items. These can range from
furniture, door hardware, knives and lighting, to banisters, railings,
gates and fencing.
Blacksmiths in early American settlements were responsible for making
just about everything. They made weapons, repaired farm equipment, made
building materials such as nails, nautical items such as anchors, and
kitchen items such as cookware. As the industrial age began to emerge,
the need for these skills dwindled, and blacksmiths became fewer in
numbers. In the early 1900s, well into the industrial age, cities were
growing and the investment industry was on fire, thus meaning there was
money to be spent. Increasingly, there was a market for decorative
ironwork, but very few skilled craftsmen left to do the work.
Throughout most of the twentieth century, few numbers of craftsmen were
learning the trade, but the numbers increased gradually in time. By the
late 1970s, we were in the midst of a rebirth of metalworking and the
interest in reviving the techniques of the past was on the rise.
Metalworkers have unleashed the potential that the art of blacksmithing
holds. They have discovered that the possibilities are boundless, and
that there is a place for metal arts in society. Today the industry is
booming, and the contemporary blacksmith works every day to create some
of the most useful, beautiful, and lasting items we have become
accustomed to seeing.
The next time you go somewhere, take a look around. You will undoubtedly
see the work of a modern day blacksmith: Streetlights in a downtown
plaza, benches in a park, the fencing around a local school, entrance
gates at a cemetery, the sculpture in front of the office complex in the
heart of the business district, landscape sculptures in the public
garden, or just the fencing around your neighbors pool. The work of the
blacksmith is all around you, and we here at Mountain State Metal Works
are grateful to be a part of this industry with such a long tradition.
