Tag Archives: art of blacksmithing

Genealogy tip: Google Alerts

Do you know about the Google Alerts feature in your Google account? I first learned about it when blogging for genealogy research. I mentioned Johann Rapparlie in a post, and someone researching the Rapparlie surname contacted me. She and I had a beneficial exchange. I shared Rapparlie’s letter translations with her, and she shared a ton of Rapparlie surname research with me.

What exactly is Google Alerts? Follow these instructions on this Family Search blog to get started. Once you enter your keyword(s), Google will alert you via email when new content on that keyword appears.

One of my Google Alerts is the title of my historical novel, The Last of the Blacksmiths. (My publisher recommended I do this.) A couple of times a month, I receive an email about websites where those key words are found. In this way, “last blacksmiths” scroll through my inbox queue regularly. A few recent examples:

November 29, 2022: Robert Kelly Remembers His Grandfather Dick Bulmer, the last traditional blacksmith in Victoria County.

November 10, 2022: Meet One of the Last Blacksmiths in Israel. Walied Khoury is one of only eight traditional blacksmiths in all of Israel.

August 28, 2022: Blacksmiths Pinning Hopes on Eid-ul-Azha Sales. Afghanistan blacksmiths see in increase in sales of butchery knives at the time of Eid-ul-Azha, a Muslim Holy Festival.

August 2, 2022: The Last Titans: Kashmir’s Once Famous Master Blacksmiths Are On Their Way Out.

Of course, other “last blacksmith”-related emails arrive too: blacksmith characters that appear in Evil Dead and other multiplayer games, Blacksmiths Lacrosse, a team out of Luxembourg, Lego blacksmith village sets on sale for Black Friday, etc. Those are equally of interest. They cause me to reflect on blacksmith mythology, how the grit and sweat of the ancient craft is gradually being subsumed.

As a book title, The Last of the Blacksmiths receives pushback from blacksmiths still engaged in the craft today. My intent is not to dismiss their impressive work. In fact, around the world there is increased interest in blacksmithing. That said, traditional blacksmithing has almost completely died out.

Once upon a time, blacksmiths were the underpinnings of society for just about everything, from farm tools to wagons to knives to nails. They were society’s troubleshooters before the age of machines and technology set in. When remembering his grandfather Dick Bulmer, Robert Kelly explains:

[Grandfather] made his living fabricating whatever people needed. Many of his older customers wanted parts for old farm equipment—threshing machines, combines, hay rakes, and so on. They would come in and bring or describe what they needed, and Dick would sketch a picture on the back of an old envelope. Once they figured it out together, he would get to work at the forge.

I recommend a look at the entire article about Dick Bulmer. It gives a flavor of traditional blacksmithing and the vital role blacksmiths played in communities of old.

Novel-writing grit

The Last of the Blacksmiths (Coffeetown Press, 2014)My book is out in stores and online. Reviews are starting to come in on GoodReads, at Morganti Writes and on Amazon.

My friend Jo said the nicest things on Facebook: “If you aren’t reading The Last of the Blacksmiths by new author, Claire Gebben, please put it on your must-read list. First of all, she takes care of the reader, offering that seated-by-the-fire-in-a-favorite-tattered-sweater kind of comfort. Second, the story is so beautifully crafted and descriptive, it reminds me of the days when families eagerly gathered in the living room around the radio on Sunday night, waiting for the next installment of a beloved program. Simply put, this is storytelling at its best. Bravo, Claire!”

Thanks, Jo! And Charlotte, and Kim! Last week, I wrote an article called Blacksmith Basics for the Sharing Stories segment of Northwest Prime Time. Writing the article, I recalled those demanding days of blacksmithing, the hammering and red-hot glowing metal, the grit and sore muscles. It occurred to me how the path to publication, the patience and endurance and faith required, is not such a far cry from the sweat and grit and discipline required to craft a useful, beautiful object out of metal.

When I think about it, that’s no doubt the case for all creative endeavors–if it’s not a challenge, it probably isn’t worth doing. And oh how grand it is to finally hold the book in my hands.

Reviving what was (almost) lost

The shift from the 19th to the 20th century was dramatic for its increased reliance on machines, which rang the death knell for the ancient art of blacksmithing.

“At the beginning of the 19th century, with the industrial revolution, the blacksmith craft had passed its peak. The increasing precision in dimensions of the milled iron stock fundamentally changed the appearance of finished works. Chamfering and texturing was supposed to recreate the old familiar look.

“The development of cast iron has to be considered as an additional factor contributing to the descent of blacksmithing, and the invention of new welding techniques (gas and arc welding) was the final major step towards the decline of the art of traditional blacksmithing.” (From The ABCs of Blacksmithing by Fridolin Wolf, Blue Moon Press, 2006.)

I keep an eye out for signs of the “old methods.” Here is a photo I took during a visit to Roosevelt University’s Auditorium Theater in Chicago. The building, constructed in 1887, is replete with hand-crafted balustrades.

The art of blacksmithing might have evaporated entirely, except for a few people like Francis Whitaker. Here is a Youtube of Francis Whitaker instructing others on how to make a wrought iron gate. There are important levels of initiation into the art — apprentice, journeyman, master. The way Francis Whitaker kept the craft alive was by visiting the old masters in the U.S. and Europe, and subsequently, passing his knowledge down to those eager to learn.

In 1966, just as the popularity of TV dinners were threatening yet another corrosion of people doing for themselves, the Foxfire magazine was born, a publication that began to revive ancient knowledge via interviews with residents in the Appalachian Mountains of Northeast Georgia. Numerous books and how-to publications have sprung from this initial effort.

But it appears a revival of this ancient art is underway. My niece who is currently attending CSU in Fort Collins tells me in her backyard, her roommate has cobbled together a blacksmithing forge. I hear the membership of the Northwest Blacksmith Association continues to rise. Such reports give me hope that all is not lost.