Blacksmith At Work
by Michelle Meenawong
Title
Blacksmith At Work
Artist
Michelle Meenawong
Medium
Photograph - Metal Print
Description
Blacksmith, also called smith, craftsman who fabricates objects out of iron by hot and cold forging on an anvil. Blacksmiths who specialized in the forging of shoes for horses were called farriers. The term blacksmith derives from iron, formerly called “black metal,” and farrier from the Latin ferrum,“iron.” Iron replaced bronze for use in tools and weapons in the late 2nd and the 1st millennia BC, and from then until the Industrial Revolution, blacksmiths made by hand most of the wrought iron objects used in the world. The blacksmith’s essential equipment consists of a forge, or furnace, in which smelted iron is heated so that it can be worked easily; an anvil, a heavy, firmly secured, steel-surfaced block upon which the piece of iron is worked; tongs to hold the iron on the anvil; and hammers, chisels, and other implements to cut, shape, flatten, or weld the iron into the desired object. Blacksmiths made an immense variety of common objects used in everyday life: nails, screws, bolts, and other fasteners; sickles, plowshares, axes, and other agricultural implements; hammers and other tools used by artisans; candlesticks and other household objects; swords, shields, and armour; wheel rims and other metal parts in wagons and carriages; fireplace fittings and implements; spikes, chains, and cables used on ships; and the ironwork, both functional and decorative, used in furniture and in the building trades.
Uploaded
May 7th, 2019
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