Working with an Artist Blacksmith

The last decade has seen a renaissance in the use of forged architectural metalwork, and a growing recognition of its significance in a wide variety of applications from the utilitarian and decorative, to pieces of site specific public art. New and expressive contemporary styles have emerged alongside the traditional, seeking to respond to the needs of contemporary architecture. These have found expression in a diversity of items from gates, screens, railings and balustrades, to sculpture, lighting, furniture and iron mongery.

Many architects have little experience of wrought metalwork as a medium, and very little has been published dealing with contemporary practice. As a result, designs and specifications are frequently so loose that they permit a low standard of interpretation and a poor standard of work to be produced. Put another way, they do not take full advantage of the skills and capabilities that the artist blacksmith can offer to design, detail, make, restore, and fix metalwork of a special character and quality.

The Role of the Artist Blacksmith

It is important to appreciate that the artist blacksmith is not simply a skilled technician, capable of following the given design drawing and manufacturing the specified piece of metalwork - he can also work creatively and offer qualities, details and designs of his own. Indeed the way the smith works gives rise to metalwork with a character and quality quite different from the kind of work produced by conventional fabrication methods.

The fabrication of metal consists essentially of the cutting, cold bending and joining of sheet, solid and tubular metal sections to produce the required structure. Its appearance derives from the careful selection of standard stock sections which are fitted together and joined, usually by electric welding or by bolting. In addition to these techniques, the artist blacksmith is skilled in a wide variety of hot forging processes which can radically change the section, surface and appearance of the standard stock bar, and the way it is joined.

The fundamental making skill of the smith lies in his understanding of the working of metal under power or hand hammer. The plastic deformation of the hot metal gives rise to an infinity of forms and a richness of surface resulting from the shaping process, which will exhibit a subtle individuality imparted by the smith. No two smiths will work in quite the same way - an individual "fingerprint" will be evident in each craftsman's work. Forging allows, for instance, a bar to be tapered smoothly from one end to another, change section abruptly from round to square, or perhaps be flattened locally to create a fixing. This changing of section is a distinctive characteristic of forge metal design, and derives from a traditional economy of making which throws very little away, but seeks simply to re-arrange the material of the stock bar. The smith can also cut, profile, manipulate and join sheet and plate material, with similar fluency.

This eloquence and familiarity with the material itself allows for physical and visual strength where it is needed, or for an expressive delicacy and lightness which belies the strength of the metal. The finely tapered end of a traditional forged scroll is a good example.

Good forged metalwork interprets the design idea through the medium of the forging process, It is necessary therefore to "think with the hammer" in order to design for the process. This is particularly apparent in the joining of forged metal. Forgings may simply be joined by electric welding, but the smith has at his disposal a large number of other means. Many of these express a powerful sense of structure and can offer the designer an eloquence of detailing which is far more lively and interesting than the welded joint of fabricated work.

Commissioning an Artist Blacksmith

Competitive quotations may well elucidate the cheapest price, but will not necessarily provide the best answer or, as I have illustrated, different pricing covering the identical detailing and quality of work.

Choosing an artist blacksmith is not difficult. Artist blacksmiths are used to showing their work and will usually send photographs or slides on request. The chosen smith can then be commissioned directly to produce a design to a given figure for the piece involved. The budget figure is an important piece of developing a proposal which bears no relation to the available funds. Since each piece of work is specially made, there is no standard price. A 2m wide gate may cost 2,000 or 20,000 and could be cheap (or expensive) at either price. It would simply be a very different gate.

The smith does not necessarily need a detailed written brief, but he does need a clear understanding of the requirements, if he is to provide the best answer. This might include;

1. All the utilitarian and aesthetic objectives - broadly, what is the piece meant to do?

2. Dimensional information and details of the site ( where appropriate) - any special problems of access or difficult surfaces to which the piece must be fixed.

3. The finish required.

4. The time schedule for the work.

5. The budget cost figure. A site visit and some discussion before finalizing this information is important, and the earlier the stage at which this consultation takes place the more useful it is likely to be.

Most smiths are operating very small businesses and would therefore expect to be paid in stages as the work proceeds. Many smiths prefer to fix their own work, while some would prefer it to be undertaken by others. Either way, this responsibility needs to be clearly agreed.

P. Parkinson July 1993 BABA

I�d like to thank the British Artist Blacksmith Association BABA

and especially Peter Parkinson for his friendly approval of the translation and publication. 

Michael Haase