James belting out another weeding finger Forging is the heating of steel and transforming it under compressive force. In the old smithy days this involved heating the steel on a coking coal forge and belting it with a hammer on the anvil to shape the steel into the desired shape. In the modern world blacksmithing is a dying art. Today, most steel work is done with mechanical presses, laser cutting, MIG welding and hardening furnaces.
At F.D. Ryan we use both modern and traditional methods to make our tools.
While James is not a blacksmith, he is still many years away from claiming this title - in using his great grandfather's own hammer, tongs and anvil he has been practising and perfecting many of these traditional skills.
Although forging is a slow and labour intensive method, it is often a preferred way of making tools because of the way the grain structure of the steel flows when hammered under heat. This gives the tool improved bending and impact strength. At the moment, James is making simple tools like his weeding knives. He is also bending some of his artwork on the forge. In the near future he will add digging forks to his range of forged tools.
Happy Gardening
At F.D. Ryan we use both modern and traditional methods to make our tools.
While James is not a blacksmith, he is still many years away from claiming this title - in using his great grandfather's own hammer, tongs and anvil he has been practising and perfecting many of these traditional skills.
Although forging is a slow and labour intensive method, it is often a preferred way of making tools because of the way the grain structure of the steel flows when hammered under heat. This gives the tool improved bending and impact strength. At the moment, James is making simple tools like his weeding knives. He is also bending some of his artwork on the forge. In the near future he will add digging forks to his range of forged tools.
Happy Gardening
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