I visited an historic house and saw a demonstration of blacksmithing in the 18th and 19th century in New Jersey. The young man demonstrating the steps of the blacksmith’s job was focused on making a wrought iron door knocker -- -- hand forging iron. He operated the bellows from an overhead lever and the resultant infusion of oxygen caused a glow in his furnace -- an open stove with two wells with beds of heated coals. The demonstrator was business like in his “smithing.” He was knowledgeable, steady and competent. He said that with his tools arranged efficiently he could hand forge numerous nails in short order. He would cut them from rods and flatten them. He showed me the thin, circular rods that were stored above across overhead beams. He said that the rods were made at the other part of the forge and parts/lengths would be cut by the blacksmith and shaped and forged. He demonstrated that he could cut the length of the nail, hammer the head flat with one hit and move to the next.


I imagine that the made nails would be swept into a bucket for cooling with one swipe and that there would necessarily come a deep rhythm and that if the smith were set - had set himself a particular, meaningful task that he would develop a deep, angry, throbbing rhythm. There would be little waste of effort.