The items in this section feature images of blacksmiths and farriers.
What's a farrier? A farrier is someone who specializes in shoeing horses. They may or may not be a blacksmith, too. Sometimes they forge the shoes and sometimes they purchase them and adjust them for each individual horse. In addition to shoeing the horses, they perform vital operations to help horses maintain the health of their hooves.
Not all blacksmiths are farriers, either. Shoeing a horse takes a different set of skills than forging iron and steel.
Some blacksmiths, like me, for instance, only know how to "shoo" horses over to a qualified farrier.
Blacksmiths are often brawny giants who forge hard iron using heat, hammers, and anvils. But, it is a common misconception that all blacksmiths are huge, sweaty men. Some of us are, but you'll find just as many smaller men and a growing number of women who are blacksmiths. Skill is often more important than strength and endurance in modern blacksmithing.
Once iron and steel is at the proper forging temperature, it acts much like modeling clay. As an artist sculpts the clay with fingers and tools, smiths use hammers and a good, solid anvil to sculpt the very hot steel into the shapes we want.
Blacksmiths learn very quickly not to hold the hot metal with our hands. Even if a piece of steel has faded from red-hot to black, it can still hold enough heat for a long time to burn you -- even if it looks cold.
Blacksmiths and farriers were as common a hundred years ago as auto mechanics, tire stores, filling stations, and car washes are today.
Blacksmithing nearly died out in the mid-20th century, but it has grown since then. There are hundreds of full-time blacksmiths and thousands of hobbyist blacksmiths, now.
If you are a blacksmith or farrier, or if you know one, these designs make great gifts to honor commitment to a craft that takes years to learn and decades to master.
