Editing Blacksmith (section)

== History, prehistory, religion, and mythology ==
=== Mythology ===
[[File:Völund on ardre 01.png|thumb|right|[[Wayland Smith|Wayland]]'s smithy in the centre, [[Niðhad|Níðuð]]'s daughter [[Böðvildr]] to the left, and Níðuð's dead sons hidden to the right of the smithy. Between the girl and the smithy, Wayland can be seen in an eagle fetch flying away. From the [[Ardre image stone]] VIII on [[Gotland]]]]

In Hindu mythology, [[Tvastar]] also known as Vishvakarma is the blacksmith of the [[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]]. The earliest references of [[Tvastar]] can be found in the [[Rigveda]].

[[Hephaestus]] (Latin: [[Vulcan (god)|Vulcan]]) was the blacksmith of the [[deity|gods]] in [[Greek mythology|Greek]] and [[Roman mythology]]. A supremely skilled artisan whose forge was a volcano, he constructed most of the weapons of the gods, as well as beautiful assistants for his smithy and a metal fishing-net of astonishing intricacy. He was the god of metalworking, fire, and craftsmen.

In [[Celtic mythology]], the role of Smith is held by eponymous (their names do mean 'smith') characters : [[Goibhniu]]  (Irish myths of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]] cycle) or [[Gofannon]] (Welsh myths/ the [[Mabinogion]]). [[Brigid]] or Brigit, an Irish [[goddess]], is sometimes described as the patroness of blacksmiths.<ref>[https://druidry.org/resources/brigid-2 Brigit - the Order of bards, Ovates and Druids]</ref>

In the [[Nart]] mythology of the [[Caucasus]] the hero known to the [[Ossetians]] as [[Kurdalægon]] and the [[Circassians]] as [[Tlepsh]] is a blacksmith and skilled craftsman whose exploits exhibit [[shaman]]ic features, sometimes bearing comparison to those of the Scandinavian deity [[Odin]]. One of his greatest feats is acting as a type of male [[midwife]] to the hero [[Xamyc]], who has been made the carrier of the embryo of his son [[Batraz]] by his dying wife the water-sprite Lady Isp, who spits it between his shoulder blades, where it forms a womb-like cyst. Kurdalaegon prepares a type of tower or scaffold above a quenching bath for Xamyc, and, when the time is right, [[Incision and drainage|lances]] the cyst to liberate the infant hero Batraz as a newborn babe of white-hot [[steel]], whom Kurdalægon then quenches like a newly forged sword.<ref>Bonnefoy, Yves (1992) [1981], Doniger, Wendy (ed.), "Asian Mythologies", ''Mythologies'', University of Chicago Press 1991, p. 340, an edited translation based on ''Dictionnaire des mythologies et des religions des sociétés traditionelles et du monde antique''.</ref>

[[File:Spectre over Los from William Blake's Jeruesalem.jpg|thumb|The artist [[William Blake]] used the blacksmith as a motif in [[William Blake's mythology|his own extensive mythology]]. Here, [[Los (Blake)|Los]], a protagonist in several of Blake's poems, is tormented at his smithy by the figure [[Spectre (Blake)|Spectre]] in an illustration Blake's poem [[Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion|''Jerusalem'']]. This image comes from Copy E. of that work, printed in 1821 and in the collection of the [[Yale Center for British Art]]<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.blakearchive.org/exist/blake/archive/object.xq?objectid=jerusalem.e.illbk.06&java=no|title = Copy Information for Jerusalem The Emanation of The Giant Albion | publisher = [[William Blake Archive]]| access-date = Sep 11, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=  Object description for "Jerusalem The Emanation of The Giant Albion, copy E, object 15 (Bentley 15, Erdman 15, Keynes 15)" |publisher= [[William Blake Archive]] |url= http://www.blakearchive.org/exist/blake/archive/illusdesc.xq?objectid=jerusalem.e.illbk.06&objectdbi=jerusalem.e.p6 |editor1=Morris Eaves |editor2=Robert N. Essick |editor3=Joseph Viscomi |access-date= September 12, 2013 }}</ref>]]

The [[Anglo-Saxon]] [[Wayland Smith]], known in [[Old Norse]] as [[Völundr]], is a heroic blacksmith in Germanic mythology. The [[Poetic Edda]] states that he forged beautiful gold rings set with wonderful gems. He was captured by king [[Níðuðr]], who cruelly [[hamstringing|hamstrung]] him and imprisoned him on an island. Völundr eventually had his revenge by killing Níðuðr's sons and fashioning [[goblets]] from their skulls, [[jewellery|jewels]] from their eyes and a [[brooch]] from their teeth. He then [[rape]]d the king's daughter, after drugging her with strong beer, and escaped, laughing, on wings of his own making, boasting that he had fathered a child upon her.

[[File:Godenhjelm - Ilmarinen takoo Sammon.jpg|thumb|''[[Ilmarinen]] Forges the [[Sampo]]'', [[Berndt Godenhjelm]], 19th century]]
Seppo [[Ilmarinen]], the Eternal Hammerer, blacksmith and inventor in the ''[[Kalevala]]'', is an archetypal artificer from [[Finland|Finnish]] mythology.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/kvrune09.htm |title=The Kalevala: Rune IX. Origin of Iron |publisher=Sacred-texts.com |access-date=2014-02-27}}</ref>

[[Tubal-cain|Tubal-Cain]] is mentioned in the [[book of Genesis]] of the [[Torah]] as the original smith.

[[Ogun]], the god of blacksmiths, warriors, hunters and others who work with iron is one of the pantheon of [[Orisha]] traditionally worshipped by the [[Yoruba people]] of [[Nigeria]].

=== Before the Iron Age ===
[[Gold]], [[silver]], and [[copper]] all occur in nature in their [[native state]]s, as reasonably pure metals{{snd}} [[humans]] probably worked these metals first. These metals are all quite [[malleable]], and humans' initial development of hammering techniques was undoubtedly applied to these metals.

During the [[Chalcolithic]] era and the [[Bronze Age]], humans in the Mideast learned how to [[smelting|smelt]], [[Melting|melt]], [[Casting (metalworking)|cast]], [[rivet]], and (to a limited extent) [[forge]] copper and bronze. Bronze is an [[alloy]] of copper and approximately 10% to 20% [[Tin]]. Bronze is superior to just copper, by being harder, being more resistant to corrosion, and by having a lower melting point (thereby requiring less fuel to melt and cast). Much of the copper used by the Mediterranean World came from the island of [[Cyprus]]. Most of the tin came from the [[Cornwall]] region of the island of [[Great Britain]], transported by sea-borne [[Phoenicia]]n and [[Greeks|Greek]] traders.

Copper and bronze cannot be hardened by heat-treatment, they can only be hardened by [[cold forming|cold working]]. To accomplish this, a piece of bronze is lightly hammered for a long period of time. The localized stress-cycling causes [[work hardening]] by changing the size and shape of the metal's [[crystallite|crystals]]. The hardened bronze can then be ground to sharpen it to make edged tools.

[[Clockmaker|Clocksmiths]] as recently as the 19th century used [[work hardening]] techniques to harden the teeth of [[brass]] [[gear]]s and [[Ratchet (device)|ratchets]]. Tapping on just the teeth produced harder teeth, with superior wear-resistance. By contrast, the rest of the gear was left in a softer and tougher state, more capable of resisting cracking.

Bronze is sufficiently corrosion-resistant that [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifacts]] of bronze may last thousands of years relatively unscathed. Accordingly, museums frequently preserve more examples of Bronze Age metal-work than examples of artifacts from the much younger [[Iron Age]]. Buried iron artifacts may completely [[rust]] away in less than 100 years. Examples of ancient iron work still extant are very much the exception to the norm.

=== Iron Age ===
Concurrent with the advent of alphabetic characters in the [[Iron Age]], humans became aware of the metal [[iron]]. However, in earlier ages, iron's qualities, in contrast to those of bronze, were not generally understood. Iron [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifacts]], composed of [[meteoric iron]], have the [[chemical composition]] containing up to 40% [[nickel]]. As this source of this iron is extremely rare and fortuitous, little development of smithing skills peculiar to iron can be assumed to have occurred. That we still possess any such artifacts of meteoric iron may be ascribed to the vagaries of climate, and the increased corrosion-resistance conferred on iron by the presence of nickel.

During the (north) Polar Exploration of the early 20th century, [[Inughuit]], northern [[Greenlandic Inuit]], were found to be making iron knives from two particularly large nickel-iron meteors.<ref>{{cite web |last=Schaefer |first=Bradley E. |url=http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/meteors/3304111.html?page=2&c=y |title=Meteors That Changed the World |publisher=SkyandTelescope.com |work=Meteors |access-date=2010-07-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222204530/http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/meteors/3304111.html?page=2&c=y |archive-date=2014-02-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref> One of these meteors was taken to [[Washington, D.C.]], where it was remitted to the custody of the [[Smithsonian Institution]].

The [[Hittites]] of [[Anatolia]] first discovered or developed the smelting of iron ores around 1500 BC. They seem to have maintained a near monopoly on the knowledge of iron production for several hundred years, but when their empire collapsed during the Eastern Mediterranean upheavals around 1200 BC, the knowledge seems to have escaped in all directions.

In the [[Iliad]] of [[Homer]] (describing the [[Trojan War]] and [[Bronze Age]] Greek and Trojan warriors), most of the [[armor]] and weapons (swords and spears) are stated to have been of bronze. Iron is not unknown, however, as [[arrowhead]]s are described as iron, and a "ball of iron" is listed as a prize awarded for winning a competition.
The events described probably occurred around 1200 BC, but Homer is thought to have composed this epic poem around 700 BC; so exactitude must remain suspect.
[[File:Blacksmith Shop Behind Custom House.jpg|thumb|left|A blacksmith shop in the harbor of [[Saint John, New Brunswick]], [[Canada]] in the late 19th century]]
The historical record during the [[Late Bronze Age collapse|Late Bronze Age Collapse]] is very inconsistent. Very few iron artifacts remain from the early [[Iron Age]], due to loss from corrosion and re-use of iron as a valuable commodity. However, all of the basic operations of blacksmithing were in use by the time the Iron Age reached a particular locality. The scarcity of records and artifacts, and the rapidity of the transition from Bronze Age to Iron Age, is a reason to use evidence of bronze smithing to infer about the early development of blacksmithing.

It is uncertain when Iron weapons replaced Bronze weapons because the earliest Iron swords did not significantly improve on the qualities of existing bronze artifacts. Unalloyed iron is soft, does not hold an edge as well as a properly constructed bronze blade and needs more maintenance. Iron ores are more widely available than the necessary materials to create bronze however, which made iron weapons more economical than comparable bronze weapons. Small amounts of steel are often formed during several of the earliest refining practices, and when the properties of this alloy were discovered and exploited, steel edged weapons greatly outclassed bronze.

Iron is different from most other materials (including bronze), in that it does not immediately go from a solid to a liquid at its [[melting point]]. H<sub>2</sub>O is a solid (ice) at −1 C (31 F), and a liquid (water) at +1 C (33 F). Iron, by contrast, is definitely a solid at {{convert|800|°F|°C|abbr=on}}, but over the next {{convert|1500|°F|°C|abbr=on}} it becomes increasingly plastic and more "taffy-like" as its temperature increases. This extreme temperature range of variable solidity is the fundamental material property upon which blacksmithing practice depends.

Another major difference between bronze and iron fabrication techniques is that bronze ''can'' be melted. The melting point of iron is much higher than that of bronze. In the western (Europe & the Mideast) tradition, the technology to make fires hot enough to melt iron did not arise until the 16th century, when smelting operations grew large enough to require overly large bellows. These produced blast-furnace temperatures high enough to melt partially refined ores, resulting in ''[[cast iron]]''. Thus cast-iron frying pans and cookware did not become possible in Europe until 3000 years after the introduction of iron smelting. China, in a separate developmental tradition, was producing cast iron at least 1000 years before this.

Although iron is quite abundant, good quality steel remained rare and expensive until the industrial developments of [[Bessemer process]] ''et al.'' in the 1850s. Close examination of blacksmith-made antique tools clearly shows where small pieces of steel were forge-welded into iron to provide the hardened steel cutting edges of tools (notably in axes, adzes, chisels, etc.). The re-use of quality steel is another reason for the lack of artifacts.

The [[Roman Empire|Romans]] (who ensured that their own weapons were made with good steel) noted (in the 4th century BC) that the [[Celts]] of the Po River Valley had iron, but not good steel. The Romans record that during battle, their Celtic opponents could only swing their swords two or three times before having to step on their swords to straighten them.

On the [[Indian subcontinent]], [[Wootz]] steel was, and continues to be, produced in small quantities.

In southern Asia and [[Blacksmiths of western Africa|western Africa]], blacksmiths form endogenous [[caste]]s that sometimes speak distinct languages.

=== Medieval period ===
[[File:Blacksmithmonk.jpg|thumb|A blacksmith [[monk]], from a medieval [[French language|French]] manuscript]]
[[File:Lancelot - Une forge de tzigane.png|thumb|A [[Romani people|Roma]] smith and his forge in [[Wallachia]], by {{ill|Dieudonné Lancelot|fr}}, 1860]]
In the medieval period, blacksmithing was considered part of the set of ''[[mechanic arts|seven mechanical arts]]''.

Prior to the [[Industrial Revolution]], a "village [[Forge|smithy]]" was a staple of every town. Factories and mass-production reduced the demand for blacksmith-made tools and hardware.

Blacksmiths typically worked in small shops, often in the center of a village or town.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tools of the Trade: A History of Blacksmithing |url=https://dragonfiretools.com/tools-of-the-trade-a-history-of-blacksmithing/ |access-date=2023-09-24 |website=Workbenches, Tool Chests, Tool Benches |language=en-US}}</ref> Their shops were typically equipped with a forge, an anvil, and a variety of other tools. The work of a medieval blacksmith was physically demanding and often dangerous. Blacksmiths had to be able to lift and move heavy pieces of metal, and they had to be careful not to burn themselves on the hot forge.

Despite the challenges, blacksmithing was a respected trade in medieval society. Blacksmiths were considered to be skilled artisans, and their work was essential to the functioning of medieval society.

==== Women ====
Whilst the majority of blacksmiths named in Britain in the medieval period were men, some women also worked as smiths.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=The Women who Forged Medieval England {{!}} History Today |url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/history-matters/women-who-forged-medieval-england |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=www.historytoday.com}}</ref> For example, in 1346 [[Katherine Le Fevre]] was appointed by Edward III to ‘keep up the king’s forge within the [[Tower of London|Tower]] and carry on [its] work … receiving the wages pertaining to the office’.<ref name=":0" /> Another example is of [[Alice la Haubergere]] (Mail-maker) who owned an armour shop and worked as an armourer in [[Cheapside]].<ref name=":0" /> In York in 1403 [[Agnes Hecche]] was left her father's mail-making equipment in his will, and took over the family business with her brother.<ref name=":0" /> Others included the [[Bellfounding|bell founder]] [[Johanna Hill and Johanna Sturdy|Johanna Hill]],  the cutler [[Agnes Cotiller]] and Eustachia l’Armurer.<ref name=":0" />

==== Medieval blacksmithing techniques ====
Medieval blacksmiths used a variety of techniques to create metal objects. One of the most common techniques was forging. Forging is the process of heating metal until it is soft enough to be shaped with a hammer and anvil.<ref>{{Cite web |last=yiselaat |date=2020-01-21 |title=Medieval Occupations and Jobs: Blacksmith. History of Blacksmiths |url=https://medievalbritain.com/type/medieval-life/occupations/medieval-blacksmith/ |access-date=2023-09-24 |website=Medieval Britain |language=en-US}}</ref>

Another common technique was welding. Welding is the process of joining two pieces of metal together by heating them until they melt and then hammering them together.

Blacksmiths also used a variety of other techniques, such as casting, cutting, and filing.

The original fuel for forge fires was [[charcoal]]. [[Coal]] did not begin to replace charcoal until the forests of first Britain (during the AD 17th century), and then the eastern United States of America (during the 19th century) were largely depleted. Coal ''can be'' an inferior fuel for blacksmithing, because much of the world's coal is contaminated with [[sulfur]]. Sulfur contamination of iron and steel make them "red short", so that at red heat they become "crumbly" instead of "plastic". Coal sold and purchased for blacksmithing should be largely free of sulfur.

European blacksmiths before and through the medieval era spent a great deal of time heating and hammering iron before forging it into finished articles. Although they were unaware of the chemical basis, they were aware that the quality of the iron was thus improved. From a scientific point of view, the reducing atmosphere of the forge was both removing [[oxygen]] (rust), and soaking more [[carbon]] into the iron, thereby developing increasingly higher grades of steel as the process was continued.

=== Industrial era ===
During the eighteenth century, agents for the [[Sheffield]] cutlery industry scoured the British country-side, offering new carriage springs for old. Springs must be made of hardened steel. At this time, the processes for making steel produced an extremely variable product—quality was not ensured at the initial point of sale. Springs that had survived cracking through hard use over the rough roads of the time, had proven to be of a better quality steel. Much of the fame of Sheffield cutlery (knives, shears, etc.) was due to the extreme lengths the companies took to ensure they used high-grade steel.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}

[[File:Blacksmith shop, railroad, Topeka.jpg|thumb|left|Blacksmiths at the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]] shops in [[Topeka, Kansas|Topeka]], [[Kansas]], 1943]] During the first half of the nineteenth century, the US government included in their [[treaties]] with many [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] tribes, that the US would employ blacksmiths and [[wikt:striker|strikers]] at [[United States Army|Army]] [[fort]]s, with the expressed purpose of providing Native Americans with iron tools and repair services.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}}

During the early to mid-nineteenth century, both European armies<ref>An Aide-Memoire to the Military Sciences volume 1'' by Royal Engineers, British Service, 1845, Col. G.G. Lewis, senior editor</ref> as well as both the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. Federal]] and [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] armies employed blacksmiths to shoe horses and repair equipment such as wagons, horse tack, and artillery equipment.  These smiths primarily worked at a [[traveling forge]] that when combined with a [[Limbers and caissons (military)|limber]], comprised wagons specifically designed and constructed as blacksmith shops on wheels to carry the essential equipment necessary for their work.<ref># The Ordnance Manual For The Use Of The Officers Of The Confederate States Army, 1863 reprinted by Morningside Press 1995, {{ISBN|0-89029-033-4}}</ref><ref># The ordnance manual for the use of officers of the United States army, 1861, reprinted by Scholarly Publishing Office, University of Michigan Library, December 22, 2005, {{ISBN|1-4255-5971-9}}</ref><ref name=Civsmith>{{cite book |first=David |last=Einhorn |title=Civil War Blacksmithing |publisher=CreateSpace Publishers |year=2010 |isbn= 978-1456364816 }}</ref>
[[File:SLCBlacksmiths.jpg|thumb|High school blacksmith class, [[Salt Lake City, Utah]], 1915]]
[[Lathes]], patterned largely on their [[woodturning]] counterparts, had been used by some blacksmiths<ref name=bookOfTools>{{cite book|last=Strelinger|first=Chas. A.|title=A Book of Tools|year=1895|publisher=Chas. A. Strelinger & Company|location=Detroit, Michigan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ouAJAAAAIAAJ}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} since the middle-ages. During the 1790s [[Henry Maudslay]] created the first [[screw-cutting lathe]], a watershed event that signaled the start of blacksmiths being replaced by [[machinist]]s in [[factories]] for the hardware needs of the populace.

[[Samuel Colt]] neither invented nor perfected [[interchangeable parts]], but his insistence (and other industrialists at this time) that his [[firearms]] be manufactured with this property, was another step towards the obsolescence of metal-working artisans and blacksmiths. (See also [[Eli Whitney]]).

As demand for their products declined, many more blacksmiths augmented their incomes by taking in work shoeing [[horse]]s. A shoer-of-horses was historically known as a [[farrier]] in English. With the introduction of [[automobile]]s, the number of blacksmiths continued to decrease, many former blacksmiths becoming the initial generation of automobile [[Mechanic]]s. The nadir of blacksmithing in the United States was reached during the 1960s, when most of the former blacksmiths had left the trade, and few if any new people were entering the trade. By this time, most of the working blacksmiths were those performing [[farrier]] work, so the term ''blacksmith'' was effectively co-opted by the farrier trade.

==== Neoclassicism era ====

In the final part of the 18th century, forged ironwork continued to decline due to the aforementioned industrial revolution, shapes of the elements in the designs of window grilles and other decorative functional items continued to contradict natural forms, surfaces begin to be covered in paint, cast iron elements are incorporated into the forged designs.

Main features of [[Neoclassicism]] ironwork (also referred to as [[Louis XVI style]] and [[Empire style]] ironwork) include smooth straight bars, decorative geometric elements, double or oval volutes and the usage of elements from [[Classical antiquity]] ([[Meander (art)]], wreaths etc.).

Typical for this kind of ironwork is that the ironwork is painted white with gold (gilded) elements.<ref name=UmeleckeKovar>{{cite book|last=Revay|first=Pavel A.|title=Umelecke Kovar|year=2010|publisher=GRADA|location=Prague, Czech Republic|isbn=9788024783277|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3sK-AgAAQBAJ}}</ref>