“By hammer and hand, all the arts do stand.”
The author of the above quote is unknown, and the profound truth captured in those nine words escaped me on first reading. Yet the veracity of this proverb, after a moment of contemplation, is undoubtedly true. True at least for the industrial and mechanical arts. Recognizing the hammer as a foundational aspect of the human experience, seeing its vital contribution to the advancement of society, is reason enough to justify this reprinting.
Drawn from the pages of the monthly journal, The Blacksmith and Wheelwright, the narratives, the detailed drawings and instructions contained herein not only recall the past developments of the trade but can serve as guide and inspiration in the present. The ancient and venerable skills described in these four volumes often served to meet an existential need. They paved the way for progress and efficiency. The purely functional aspects of metal working were, for our forebearers, of critical importance…even a matter of life and death. Through Richardson’s Practical Blacksmithing, we recall the role of the blacksmith in matters of war. The development of weapons, armor, and chainmail are detailed. Many lives, those saved and those lost, might well have depended on the quality of workmanship at the forge and anvil. Beyond such deadly results wrought by man we remember the hammer, the sickle, the plow, the horseshoe and more that allowed a new freedom and means of survival for communities across the globe.
My own journey into this ancient and historic world began in 1978. The mainstream and standard world of the so-called professions seemed to me a prison sentence. I found myself in search of meaningful and fulfilling work, work not for another’s profit, but work that might allow me to meet my own needs on my own terms. This very book, then in a newly released edition, helped me find my way.
Through these pages, I entered a world steeped in history and practical knowledge. As I read, I found there is a kind of poetry and delicacy of expression nestled beside technical drawings and metallurgical science. I found the book to be beautifully illustrated, brimming with creative ideas; all gathered and presented to the reader on a scale available nowhere else.
To my surprise, there is often an unexpected and dry sense of humor woven throughout these pages. I recall, for example, the frustration of a poorly functioning grinding stone, a stone that must be wetted down to prevent glazing, is delightfully captured in Volume Two. “Water has a decided tendency to disassociate itself from a stone that capers about too lively,” thereby giving the smith an unwanted soaking.
For the lover of the metal arts, or the student of history, for the collector of antiques, for the professional, or the weekend enthusiast there is something of value to be discovered. I encourage you to enjoy connecting to a long line of working men, joined today by working women blacksmiths, who found fulfillment at the anvil. Those who then and now, in their own small way, changed their lives and the world through the art and science of blacksmithing.
Bob Weick
Philadelphia, 2017