WROUGHT IRON HANDICRAFT

It took a fair amount of heat and muscle to bend the iron for these items. While hot, wrought iron is fairly soft, and can be shaped with a hammer  to the desired form, whether sharp, thin, or broad, or whatever. The smith works the iron over the front or back edge of the anvil, giving the blows of the hammer in a vertical or angled direction (drawing the hammer). He uses the face (front) or the peel (back) of the hammer. As he walks, he must not only consider the blows of the hammer, he must also watch the work as between the individual blows he must turn from front to back, and so on. The smith himself makes the various tools he needs, such as chisels, tongs and swages, according to his needs.