Interesting facts about art forging. Interesting facts about blacksmiths. Myths about master blacksmiths

The blacksmith profession originated many centuries ago. Kuznetsov in those days was personified with people endowed with remarkable, magical powers. They often became heroes of legends and fairy tales, they were very respected people in society. How is the profession of a blacksmith useful today? In the sections of this article, we will try to answer this question.

Facts from history

People began to use metal products since ancient times. Blacksmiths who lived in primitive times, with the help of fire, could turn shapeless pieces of iron ore into tools for hunting and agricultural work, and forge jewelry out of them. Over time, people who were involved in blacksmithing more and more honed their skills and forging techniques. They began to develop their own professional secrets, traditions and rituals.

Representatives of the blacksmith profession in the old days learned to cast sophisticated, improved weapons and household items: shields, armor, various agricultural equipment and much more. To meet the growing needs of their clientele, they had to keep up with the times. Blacksmiths of past eras "produced" a large number of forged items, which we today refer to as works of art. Fishnet metal grates on the windows, strong wrought iron gates, intricate locks, forged by blacksmiths, and to this day serve as adornments of architectural monuments in many countries.

Work duties of a blacksmith today

In order to have an idea of \u200b\u200bwhat kind of work the representatives of the blacksmith profession are currently doing, it is necessary to know their basic labor duties. These people must perfectly possess certain knowledge and skills, which include:

• skills in working with hammers, presses and curling machines;
• forging certain parts using special blanks;
• the ability, following the generally accepted technology, to heat billets in the furnace;
• mastery of performing basic blacksmithing operations: drawing, upsetting, bending, chopping off, stitching and welding;
• the ability to put into practice drawings and sketches;
• knowledge of safety regulations;
• possession of knowledge in the field of drawing, physics and chemistry.

Modern blacksmiths in their work combine the art of forging bygone times and achievements in the field of scientific and technological progress. They use not only the traditional hammer, but also various technical devices.

Necessary qualities

A representative of the blacksmith profession, in order to become a highly qualified specialist, needs to have certain personal qualities:

• ideal physical shape;
• one hundred percent vision and a good eye;
• endurance;
• excellent visual memory;
• tolerance to high temperatures.

Pros and cons of the profession

The main advantage of the profession of a blacksmith is considered to be the ability to reveal creative ideas that can bring aesthetic pleasure to people. An important advantage of this profession is also high wages.

At present, the work of blacksmithing masters is becoming more and more in demand. Professionals in this field often open their own workshops for the production of high-quality metal products.

The disadvantages of this profession primarily include difficult working conditions and increased injury risk. Blacksmiths carry out their labor activity in a hot and noisy room where non-observance of basic safety rules invariably results in burns.

The disadvantage of the profession of a blacksmith (description job responsibilities blacksmithing masters testifies to this) are also increased physical activity. Its representatives often have to deal with very heavy workpieces and metal products. As a result, mostly men go to work as blacksmiths.

How to become a blacksmith

In the old days, it was possible to master this interesting profession only by getting a job as an apprentice to a blacksmith. Traditionally, fathers taught this craft to their sons. At present, everyone can get a higher or specialized secondary education in the specialty "Master of artistic metal forging."

It is possible to fully comprehend the intricacies of the blacksmith profession only in practice. Training provides good theoretical knowledge, develops creative skills, but the ability to forge can be acquired only in the forge. Making various products with his own hands, the blacksmith begins to feel the nature of the metal and make non-standard decisions, without which it is difficult to imagine his work.

For professionals working for manufacturing enterprise, it is extremely important to get a grade confirming their qualifications. It can be upgraded with a special certification.

The profession of a blacksmith in the 21st century can be called a mystical and mysterious occupation. Indeed, under the hands of modern farriers, metal seems to come to life. From it, as if by magic, flowers bloom, become like living animals and birds. Piece products created by art forging masters, filled with grace and beauty, can be safely attributed to luxury goods.

The surname Kuznetsov is one of the most common in our country. This suggests that the craft was very popular and honorable in Russia. And in the world of the namesakes Kuznetsov millions: Koval, Kovalevsky, Kovalchuk, Schmidt, Smith, Ferran, Kovacs and so on. It is noteworthy that the most popular among the British and Americans is the surname "Smith", which also translates as "blacksmith".

Among the rulers there were many who mastered, or tried to master, blacksmithing. For example, Peter the Great took active participation in forging ship anchors at a shipyard in Voronezh. King Charles IX of France personally forged locks and keys, and Louis XIV even had his own forge in the Palace of Versailles.

Since pagan times, among the revered gods were blacksmiths or their descendants associated with the element of fire and the process of iron processing. So Hephaestus is the Greek god-blacksmith, Thor is Scandinavian, Woland is European.

In popular belief, it is often believed that blacksmiths know with evil spirits. The word "deceit" comes from the verb "forge". What's the connection? The Slavs considered blacksmithing to be mysterious and incomprehensible. Therefore, blacksmiths were not only respected, but also feared.

Painters and sculptors most often depicted blacksmiths with huge muscles, easily wielding a huge hammer. But, more often than not, it was not the blacksmiths who looked like this, but the hammers. Their duties differed: the blacksmith supervised the forging process, pointing to the hammer with a light hammer where to strike with the hammer. Therefore, we can say that the blacksmith did the intellectual part of the work, and the hammer - the physical.

The fun of the Irish blacksmiths (or hammers) eventually turned into a serious sports discipline, which is even included in the program of the Olympic Games. In their free time, they organized competitions - who would throw the smith's hammer next. Competitions have become so popular that they are now a form of athletics. True, the throwing hammer has undergone major changes, and now it does not in any way resemble a hammer for forging metal.

In Russia, there was a legend about a blacksmith who had excellent health. Every morning he went to the smithy, which was several miles from home. In order not to waste time, the blacksmith set up a hut next to the smithy. And soon he fell seriously ill. It turns out that daily walks helped to remove harmful substances from the lungs that the blacksmith inhaled while working.

Forges were built on the outskirts of a village or village; there must have been a reservoir nearby. This was due to the fact that blacksmithing was flammable. One spark is enough for the smithy to flare up, and after it the neighboring buildings.

The dynasty of industrialists Demidov originates from the Tula blacksmith-gunsmith Nikita Demidov, who made weapons for the amusing troops of the young Peter. Demidov's efforts were not lost, thanks to the location of the king, he became one of the richest people Russia. It is interesting that the blacksmith's hammer was adorned even on the Demidov's family coat of arms.

Russian blacksmiths even had their heavenly patrons - Saints Kosma and Demyan, whose memorial day the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates on November 14. On this day, blacksmiths do not start work, I consider it a great sin. According to popular beliefs, Kosma and Demyan were also blacksmiths, forging plows and distributing them to people so that they could cultivate the land.

There were no windows in the old smithies. This was explained by the fact that when forging a product, it is necessary to strictly maintain the temperature regime. And in ancient times this could only be determined by eye - by the color of the metal. And in the dark forge it was easier to do.

The art of forging metals is ancient, if not the oldest applied arts... allowed mankind to create tools and devices superior to their counterparts from natural improvised material in terms of strength, performance and service life. The first metals to experience cold forging were native forms of gold and copper. Bronze was born in experiments with alloys. Subsequently, the processing of meteorite iron made a real revolution in the science and weaponry of those times. Steels (alloys of iron and carbon) have opened up broad prospects in agriculture and a variety of applied crafts. It is practically impossible to overestimate the importance of the appearance of iron among processed materials for the evolution and progress of mankind. Since ancient times, in all branches of activity, a person has been using certain products or tools made of steel. A popular saying says that the blacksmith is the father of all crafts.

Now a few facts about forging and smithies that we think may be of interest or useful to you.

- Blacksmiths are gods, demigods, descendants of gods. In all early pagan cultures of mankind, the pantheon of the main (supreme) gods included a blacksmith god or god, one way or another associated with the process of metalworking, the lord of the elements of fire and the patron of crafts. Examples: Thor from the Scandinavians, Veland (Woland) from the Europeans, Hephaestus (Vulcan) from the Greeks. The secrets of ore mining and metal refining were strictly preserved in the circle of initiates. And as a result, they were overgrown with rumors and myths. Mystery was added by the use in the first forges, in addition to bronze and copper, meteorite iron, the unearthly origin of which even then did not raise any doubts. The forging was carried out in secrecy, the work was carried out with the "heavenly metal", only a few had the skills, the products were valued incredibly high - these factors are quite enough to elevate the blacksmith to the highest degree of hierarchy in a tribe or early state. Further folk art: blacksmiths - shamans, sorcerers, the lord of the elements, priestesses of fire, and so on. Forging itself has become akin to a sacred rite. I think the first blacksmiths themselves were not averse to catching up with the fog. In Russia, the god-blacksmith was Svarog - a direct descendant of the Family, sent to create the human world and arrange the world order. Blacksmiths were considered priests of Svarog. The undeniable benefits brought to the community have invariably made the smithy a positive hero of the epic, myths and fairy tales. The process of turning brown-red clay (bog ore) into household items and marvelous adornments seemed to an ignorant public to be witchcraft. Forges were always built on an individual basis, firstly, due to the increased danger of a fire during the smelting process, and secondly, for the convenience of supplying ore and coal. Even fellow villagers tried not to show much interest in production because of the many signs and superstitious fear. On the territory of central Russia, during excavations, artifacts of blacksmithing made of steel were found dating back to the 5th-6th centuries A.D. The remains of the found weapons and household items testify to the highest skill of artistic forging of the successors of the Svarog case of that time. The products were not only skillfully forged, but also exquisitely decorated. Both poor bog ore and steel made of relatively pure iron were used, which indicates the existence of the science of mining and high level smelting business. There were also alloys made of "heavenly iron". To replace Svarog, the patronage of the blacksmith handicraft was taken over by Christian saints - the blacksmiths Kuzma and Demyan.

Why a forge without windows? The old smithy was a log house often dug into the ground or with embankments on the walls. There were no windows. This design served for the convenience of maintaining the temperature regime, and the twilight made it easier for the blacksmith to determine the required temperature for forging by the colors of the heat of the metal and the nature of the spark produced during forging. Correct determination of the forging temperature directly affected the quality of the product. Errors in technology "by eye" were very expensive, because iron and steel were obtained by hard work and in limited quantities.

Forging temperature of steel 850 - 1200 ° C. Is it a lot or not? Today, little surprises us, including these numbers. But imagine a rural blacksmith's, where several apprentices had to spend about an hour working with hand bellows to heat one piece on charcoal. For comparison, natural lava flows along the slope of the volcano, with a temperature of about 1000 ° C. To determine the optimal forging temperatures, today a thermocouple or pyrometer is used, and earlier everything was based on experience.

Iron is a precious metal. Exactly, the most precious metal according to the degree of usefulness to mankind, iron was called by many famous people, for example: educator V. Pevshin (18th century), chemist A. Korenev (19th century), historian J. Gover (19th century). It is impossible to argue with this, given the role of "simple" iron in the progress of civilization.

- Stereotypes and myths about blacksmiths and forging. Most pictures on the internet dedicated to blacksmiths and forging, we find a touching image of a stalwart fellow, a kind of epic hero with a huge sledgehammer on the swing. Often: a hammer in one hand and a gigantic-sized, crafted sword in the other. The set of stereotypes is continued by the elastic muscles of the bare torso under a leather apron and sheaves of sparks. So, these pictures with special pathos depict a hammer. In fact, the blacksmith who devoted his entire adult life to the craft, as a rule, was dry and wiry. This is due to the hot shop conditions. In fact, it was a hot smoked "product". The blacksmith supervised the forging process with a small hammer - a handbrake (accent on the first syllable), giving instructions to the hammer on where, how and with what force to strike the workpiece. The assistant took out the workpiece from the forge and held it on the anvil during forging with the help of blacksmith tongs. Everything had to happen extremely smoothly and quickly, while the metal remains forging temperature. Due to the lack of mechanization, one person could only work with small forgings. The hammer in the forge was a brute force. In fact, he was a hired worker, he did not have time to master the heights of blacksmithing skills. Constant blows on a hard surface "dried" the hammer's hands, destroyed and deformed the joints. It was a very dangerous and unhealthy job. The blacksmith's apprentices, as a rule, were boys from among those working on blacksmith furs and furs of a damp-blowing smelting furnace. They had the opportunity to observe the forging process at work, gaining knowledge from infancy. It was a great success to become a blacksmith's apprentice, and the competition was like in modern universities.

Surnames formed from the word "blacksmith". The surname "Kuznetsov" indirectly testifies to the importance of blacksmiths in society and the prestige of the profession - one of the most common in Russia. This situation is observed all over the world: Kowali, Kowalski, Kovacs, Schmidts, Smiths, Ferans, Erreira had representatives of blacksmith dynasties as distant ancestors.

- Metamorphoses of semantics Oddly enough, the word "deceit" is based on "forging, forging". It meant "skill, skill, knowledge" and had a purely positive semantic coloring. Over time, the word and its derivatives changed their linguistic meaning to "two-faced, vile". Such cases are not isolated, an example of this is the meaning of the words "witch", "witcher" (witch, witch), which also meant people who knew, knowledgeable, and later turned into "sorcerers", sat on brooms and began to eat princes. Modern heirs of the fiery blacksmith's craft, true masters can safely call themselves "cunning wizards" in memory of the ancient representatives of the noble profession.

In my interview, I asked questions to a specialist in the field of artistic forging - my dad Likhov Kharabiy Mugadovich. He tried to thoroughly answer all my questions. Of course, you can talk endlessly about the work of "Blacksmith", but within the framework of the competition I revealed the basic facts about this interesting work.

Tell us about yourself: who do you work and how long have you been working in this profession?

I have been working as a blacksmith for almost 10 years. Previously, it was just my hobby, which gradually grew into my profession, which now suits me very much.

Why did you choose this profession?

From early childhood, I liked working with various metal products and was the best at it.

Are you satisfied with your choice?

My profession suits me in everything, I am completely satisfied with it, despite some difficulties in the process of making forged products.

Was it difficult to master your profession? What kind of education do you need to get for this?

Personally, my profession was easy for me, because working with pleasure is very interesting. I am a self-taught blacksmith, but I have two higher education majoring in civil engineer, which helps in my work.

Do you need any special qualities and skills for a person who has decided to become a specialist in this field?

Yes, you need, namely, knowledge in the field of mathematics and geometry, artistic skills and the presence of design imagination. It seems to me that only with these qualities you can be a good blacksmith.

What difficulties did you face in your work?

In my work, there are various difficulties, for example: the breakdown of tools or the purchase of poor quality material, but there is nothing insurmountable and all problems are eventually solved.

What is the most interesting thing about your job?

The most interesting and, in my opinion, satisfactory for my work is to see satisfied clients in my work.

Does your profession allow you to reveal your creativity, to express yourself?

Many creative abilities are revealed in my work, but the main quality is the ability in the field of artistic forging.

Has your childhood dream of your future profession come true?

Since childhood, I was interested in art forging, but I did not think that this hobby would become mine future profession... As an older person, I thought to learn this profession, time has passed. And so, now I have mastered this important activity.

How useful and important is your profession for our country?

My profession is important because products made by me are widely used in everyday life, industry, construction, agriculture and so on.

Does your profession bring good income?

My income fully depends on the number of my clients, at the moment I can fully support myself and my family. Not to say that the income is huge, but this money is more than enough for me.

What would you like to warn those who are going to get the same profession as yours.

My profession can be very traumatic, and it also requires care, patience and caution. In the manufacturing process, you should not be distracted, otherwise you can miss an important point.

What was your first piece of metal?

When I was little, I had a passion for design, my very first product was a small metal truck that everyone liked. Even the neighbors came to our house to see him.

Are your products in demand?

Of course, it does, because the products I made are used by people in different industries. IN different time forging used in great demand, our time is no exception. People are still very fond of forged products.

Have you ever thought about leaving your profession and learning something new?

Earlier, not when this idea did not occur to me. And it is not surprising, because my profession suits me completely. It is very important to do what you are interested in, then there will be no desire to quit one business and do another.

Have you ever made the wrong size when making products?

Of course, there were mistakes, but all these unpleasantnesses were corrected. With experience, of course, these mistakes are no longer allowed. The main thing in this matter is attention and accuracy.

Would you like your children to adopt this profession from you?

I think that every person has the right to choose a profession himself, and not to do it because his parents want it so. It is important for me that my children find themselves in life and live happily.

Works by my dad:

The interview was conducted by Diana Likhova,
Grade 7, MBOU Secondary School No. 6 named after I.T. Sidorenko,
Ust-Labinsk, Krasnodar Territory.