It’s difficult to look at this steel horse, see the depth of detail, detail that even includes the stitching on the horses halter, and still believe it was done by a Blacksmith – not a sculptor.
The ploughman. Behind the pair of plough horses pictured above.
Pictured right: The ploughman behind the pair of plough horses pictured above.
For hundreds, if not thousands of years, the blacksmith and his forge was once a familiar sight at the heart of many country villages in the UK. But where are they now? What’s their place in the modern world?
Before writing this article, my image of the ‘Blacksmith’ was a traditional one. Horse shoes readily sprang to mind and refused to go away – but shoeing horses is the work of the Farrier not the Blacksmith. So what exactly does a Blacksmith do?
Especially in an age where horsepower for transport is measured in 100’s sometimes 1000’s. These are the questions I put to Blacksmith John Bellamy of the Blacksmiths Guild based at West Point in Exeter, County Devon.
The plough made from steel in a blacksmiths forge is a fully workable model that's historically accurate.
Plough-detail - showing where the blade height can be changed
So what does it take to become a blacksmith?
John Bellamy explains, “so long as you’ve got something to hit something with, something to hit it on, something to hit and a fire to get it warm you’re a blacksmith.” An oversimplification for sure but then John expands upon his theme.
“After the first basic pieces, we teach people to make their own tools – hotcut tools for cutting metal when its hot, hammer-type tools for shaping metal, punches for making holes of infinite shapes and sizes”.
John is an ‘enabler’. The essence of what he’s about is that he teaches people to work with metal to make whatever tool or piece they wish, this in turn gives them the confidence in their own ability to do whatever job they wish. In this way, his students are only limited by their own imagination.
They can leave his workshop with all the skills necessary to develop in which ever direction they choose to go – whether it’s to start up a restoration-based business, an art-craft type business, perhaps a wrought iron gate builder or may be to become a specialist tool maker for thatching for example, the possibilities are endless. John himself has even built specialist items for prosthetics.
Blacksmith in a day
The Blacksmiths Guild provides a one-day course for anyone interested in learning the blacksmith skills – a taster if you like. As John goes on to explain, “we will teach them the basic skills, enough to start making a living out of it. Students start with a piece of mild steel and learn how to put a round point on, which can be developed in to a curly Q and then in to a candle holder or whatever. You (the student) can then spread the end, scroll him up, pull him round, bend it 90°, and they can stick it in the ground put a glass of wine in it for use beside the deck chair on the patio and off you go.” Such a piece can sell for £10 he adds.
A student's BBQ fork that will last
John continues, “And then after 11 o’clock.” (I’m not kidding!) “We give them a basic steel rod, show them how to put a ring on, then a taper, put a twist in it, turn it round, split the other end, draw it to put a bit of a taper and there you’ve got a meat fork. That will take them to around 3-4 o’clock in the afternoon.” Then, he will show his students how to put a non-toxic finish on the fork using a natural vegetable oil finish. “Not peanut oil in case of allergies,” John is at pains to point out.
A Blacksmith course can be as much as you need
The great thing about the Blacksmiths Guild is that it does not suggest to any student that after completing a set period of study they can call themselves a ‘qualified blacksmith’. This is not what it’s about, instead the Guild provides courses to teach people what they actually need. Students are then expected to go off to practice and develop their new skills themselves until they wish to return and progress to the next level. They can progress or otherwise as much as they wish. Yet it’s not unusual for students to study for a few weeks and then leave equipped to start their own business.
Assorted Blacksmith tongs
Tongs
Tongs are an essential tool used to safely and securely hold any item when it comes out of the forge. There are a limited number of ready-made tongs available, so the Guild runs a course to teach Blacksmiths how to custom make a pair of tongs for whatever item they need to handle.
Scroll with 'safe ends'
T scroll
Different scroll types
Take the scrolls often found in iron gates, there are many different styles. Anything below eye level should have ’safe ends’ so they will not snag on clothing for example. TScrolls like the ‘overthrow’ type are John explains, “like “italic writing for scrolls and give some life to them, some even have a ‘halfpenny snub” on the end as shown.
Half Penny Snub Scroll
Restoration work
Restoration work comes in two basic types; the item can be copied and rebuilt in exactly the same way the original was put together hundreds of years ago, or it can be built with modern ’shortcut methods’ so that from a distance it will look like the original did, but to anyone who knows the skills the difference will be apparent. John goes on to explain how the item pictured comprises two paired items and a fifth piece in the centre which are all forgewelded in the fire until its nearly molten which gives the charachteristic smoothe curve all the way round. If the same piece had been made using modern welding techniques all the welds would have to be properly dressed and the time taken would be more than the blacksmith would need to do a proper job in the first place.
Devon-based Blacksmith John Bellamy
Needless to say John’s enthusiasm is infectious. Here is someone who considers himself a ‘catalyst’ for his craft. Since he not only teaches the practical skills, the Blacksmiths Guild also serves as a network hub for blacksmiths to share new skills and to introduce clients with the right people, with the right skills, in their area, for the commissions they desire.
