F

forge

A blacksmith's or farrier's workshop where all utensils, machines and tools of the trade are kept and the blacksmith can work metal either in a hot or in a cold state.

G

gas forge

An oven fueled with gas in which metal can be heated to temperatures high enough to allow forging.

H

horseshoe, hand-forged

A horseshoe hand made by a farrier out of bar stock. A hand-forged shoe can be precisely adapted to the needs of the horse being shod.

C

coal hearth

The conventional blacksmiths hearth is a large open hearth (fireplace) complete with a hood and some form of air supply to the fire through a nozzle known as a tuyere. Historically the air supply was provided by hand held bellows, nowadays an electric fan is used. The fuel used for the forge is either coal or coke, idealy with a high bitumen content.

F

fire welding

A technique used to join two pieces of metal by heating them to a high temperature in the forge (until they asume a glossy, slightly liquid appearance) and then joining them together using pressure (for instance by striking with a hammer). This technique has been used since ancient times, these days it has been largely replaced by electrical or gas welding methods.

H

F

C

G