A blacksmith is a forging metal worker.
Forging metal worker.
Features of the profession
The profession of a blacksmith is one of the most ancient. Blacksmiths made tools, weapons, building elements, castles. And, decorations. They work with a variety of metals - from cast iron to gold.
If necessary, a blacksmith can use not only forging, but also other technologies: forge welding, casting, mountain soldering, heat treatment products, etc.
And yet forging is the main action in the work of a blacksmith.
A large number of identical shaped products are often made using stamping (hot or cold).
Another name for a blacksmith is a farrier. This word is borrowed from Ukrainian language. IN Soviet time the word "forger" began to denote a separate blacksmith specialty. At the hippodromes, forgers worked, who were exclusively engaged in shoeing horses, and blacksmiths who made these horseshoes, i.e. worked in a forge with metal.
The work of a farrier can be called intermediate between blacksmithing and veterinary medicine (veterinary orthopedics).
But in the West there is a similar division according to specialties: farrier- a specialist who stuffs horseshoes for horses, blacksmith- a blacksmith as such, working in a forge, making horseshoes. Unlike Russian farriers, in Europe and America, forgers must be able to make their own horseshoes, including complex and orthopedic ones.
Recently, this trend has also been observed in Russia.
Workplace
If in the old days the forge was the main place of work, now, as a result of industrialization, many blacksmiths work in the workshops of enterprises.
Although there are still forges where craftsmen are engaged, as a rule, in artistic forging and casting.
Often in blacksmith shops and forges they work as a team. Its composition depends on the types of work and the equipment used. When hand forging, the blacksmith-hammerer can be assisted by trainees.
In production, the team is led by a foreman.
Important qualities
Who can work as a blacksmith? Of course, a man who is physically strong. He must have good eyesight, an ideal eye, the ability to tolerate high temperatures, visual memory. And, as the blacksmiths themselves say, for successful work you need to be able to feel the material.
Artistic forging is usually done by people who are artistically gifted, able to draw, prone to applied arts.
At the same time, it is important to take into account physical exercise with which the blacksmith has to deal.
Problems
Since you have to work mainly in an inclined position, the back often suffers. Enhanced level noise that may affect your hearing. Vibration associated with the work of the hammer, which falls primarily on the hands, shoulder girdle and affects the health of the joints and ligaments.
In addition, this is a traumatic occupation that requires strict adherence to safety precautions and attention.
Where do they teach
Masters artistic forging often become graduates of art universities. In particular, in art universities there is a specialty "artistic processing of metals".
Technologies of artistic processing of metals (artistic forging, artistic casting) are taught in metallurgical universities. For example, at the Moscow State Evening Metallurgical Institute.
At school blacksmith art at the same university you can get a specialty "blacksmith-artist".
By specialty "metal forming technology", "blacksmith on hammers and presses", "blacksmith-puncher" taught in colleges.
What profession suits you? Seek help from a professional
Comments
Where will they learn to be a blacksmith in Russia?
Over the past four decades, blacksmithing has gone through a difficult path from a dying craft to a rapidly developing art. The appearance of numerous guilds and unions, annual Russian festivals and master classes, exhibitions presenting the talented works of recognized masters and beginners, metal works decorating city streets, private properties and collections speak of growth prospects. After a period of oblivion, the profession of a blacksmith becomes, if not popular, then at least in demand. Naturally, the issue of getting an education in the field of artistic metal processing is becoming increasingly important. Therefore, the Mir Metalla magazine set out to find out where and to what extent one can acquire the skills of this difficult but interesting business.
From Mukha to UralGAKhA.
Saint-Petersburg State Art and Industry Academy. Baron A. L. Stieglitz was founded in 1876 and for a long time was known as V. I. Mukhina LVHPU. This is one of the most authoritative art educational institutions in Russia.
It is difficult to get into the fly, and even more difficult to study in it, but this is a real school. Only 150 people enter the academy for the first year, and the students are taken very seriously.
Department of Artistic Metal Processing (HOM, Faculty of Decorative and applied arts) for more than 30 years. Form of study - full-time, duration - 6 years. Nonresident students are provided with a hostel, so they come here from all over Russia. There is one main requirement for applicants: they must be creatively gifted. The necessary skills are academic fluent drawing and freedom of thinking (the ability to fantasize, compose), but metalworking skills are not required.
The general orientation of the department is architectural metal, and the city itself, richly decorated with bars, gates, bridge fences, is a huge training ground.
Nikolai Alexandrovich Yashmanov, head of the HOM department, emphasizes that not blacksmiths are being trained here, but artists. The diploma of a graduate from Mukhina (and former students, despite the change in the name of the university, continue to call themselves Mukhins) will read: an artist with a specialization in artistic metalworking. The most important thing for teachers is to reveal the creative essence of a person and develop his gift, and the choice of material (metal, wood, glass, ceramics, etc.) is secondary.
It is important that the applicant enters the department immediately, and not just the faculty. There is no course in Mukha general sciences lasting three to four years, and from the first year they begin to systematically study the specialty. Another fundamental feature of the department HOM: all student work is supported by the material. In the learning process, different design tasks are set, for each task a new technology, and the embodiment is carried out exclusively in the material (not in the layout).
Students should embody their ideas, and not copy other people's work - this is the position of teachers.
A lot of time is devoted to the study of academic subjects - drawing and painting, because they are the technical basis necessary for free creativity. Whereas the traditions of academic drawing have largely been lost in the West, a strong school has been preserved in Russia. At the academy, they try to broaden the horizons of students as much as possible, students are very seriously engaged in the history of art, the history of decorative and applied art, for several years highly qualified specialists from the Hermitage, the Russian Museum give lectures for them ...
During the training, students are introduced to almost all possible technological processes metal processing - from punched iron to casting. A specialist who graduated from Mukha is a specialist of the broadest profile, capable of working in any technique. Another famous art educational institution is the Moscow State Art and Industrial University named after S. G. Stroganov (Moscow). The history of this multidisciplinary university began in 1825, when it was also called the School of Drawing in relation to arts and crafts. The activities of such famous architects and artists as S. V. Ivanov, M. A. Vrubel, A. V. Shchusev, K. A. Korovin and others are connected with the school.
Since 1945, the Department of Artistic Processing of Metal and Other Materials has been opened at the Faculty of Monumental, Decorative and Applied Arts. Stone, wood, glass, plastic can act as "other" materials.
The department prepares metal artists who design various objects for interior and exterior (jewelry, forged and monumental).
One semester is allocated for each specialty. Students get acquainted with formatting (the ability to form works in plaster), blacksmithing, jewelry, enamelling, engraving and plumbing, electroforming, chasing, punching. Such an approach, even in apprenticeship, teaches to choose the optimal material and technology for each designed product.
The key difference of the Stroganov University was already indicated by its founder, Count S. G. Stroganov: artists are trained here to create Russian items, Russian in spirit and original. Following this principle led to the fact that at the beginning of the 20th century, the works of graduates of the Stroganov School made a splash at world art exhibitions, receiving the highest marks.
Another difference lies in the drawing technique taught: constructive drawing is taught at the Moscow State Art Pedagogical University, while great importance is attached to the development of volumetric thinking, understanding of construction and plasticity of form.
The term of study at Stroganov is 5.5 years. The university does not have its own hostel, which significantly limits the opportunities for nonresident applicants.
The Ural State Academy of Architecture and Art (UralSAHA) was founded in 81947. Today it is one of the leading universities in Russia in the field of urban planning, architecture, design, fine arts, information technologies and the only university of its kind in the Urals.
Since 1990, the department of decorative and applied arts has opened a specialization in the art processing of stone and metal. The teachers passed on to the students the primordial Ural craftsmanship of the organic combination of metal and stone (simple and faceted) in one product.
In 2005 he successfully defended his graduation projects for the first graduation of a new separate specialization of the academy - artistic processing of metals. For the first time in the history of the Ural State Academy of Arts, blacksmiths with higher education appeared, and, it should be noted, these were the most talented graduates. The diploma indicates the qualification "blacksmith-designer".
Features of training are determined by the specifics of the institution: here they work with architectural metal and monumental and decorative forms. Graduates with knowledge of architectural features and trends can, firstly, propose a metal solution that will take into account all aspects of the planned site, and secondly, get the job done. All teachers of the department are members of the association "Blacksmiths of the Urals".
The Moscow State Evening Metallurgical Institute (MGVMI) trains specialists in the field of technology for the artistic processing of materials on the job. The institute accepts both citizens of Russia and residents of neighboring countries.
The School of Blacksmithing was opened on a paid basis at the MSUMI, which continues the education system of this university, because blacksmithing brings us back to the beginnings of metalworking and metallurgy. The school gives everyone - both schoolchildren and those with higher education- opportunity to join ancient craft. Education at school is differentiated by four levels of training.
Those wishing to gain basic knowledge of practical forging methods are trained for three months in forging and blacksmith maintenance and receive the qualification of "blacksmith's assistant". The second level course lasts six months; during this time, they teach the manufacture of products of medium complexity, give lessons in drawing, composition, and the basics of blacksmithing technology. Graduates are awarded the qualification of "apprentice blacksmith". Persons with a secondary specialized education (vocational school, technical school, college) study for 10 months, receive practical knowledge on forging complex and especially complex art products, as well as in-depth knowledge of drawing, composition, design, engineering. Those who successfully pass the exam are awarded the qualification "master blacksmith". The fourth level of training is designed for students of the Moscow State Medical University, who, in the Mastery course, receive a wide range of knowledge and skills - both humanitarian, technical and economic. The result of the training is a graduation project, demonstrating all the experience gained. Students qualify as process engineers by artistic processing metals.
There are many examples of how graduates of the St. Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture named after V.I. I. E. Repina. In Repa, they do not teach the skills of working directly with metal; but the basic art education received is very high level, subsequently can be successfully applied in the most different areas art.
“The main thing in such an education is not to enslave yourself within the rigid framework of sculpture or, say, painting,” says Timur Ageev, a sculptor graduate. - The guys graduate from the department of painting and after that they are engaged in both stained-glass windows and tapestries, and at the same time remain painters. If you graduated from this institute, it does not mean that now you have to deal only with easel sculpture in stone and bronze. No, you are an artist, and you have the right to look for ways to realize your talents and skills.”
Timur himself, while receiving a higher education, simultaneously entered the forge, where he learned the basics of blacksmithing, went through the necessary school. Now he is engaged in both forging and sculpture, trying in some works to combine these two very different plastics (projects “sculpture in metal”).
Invaluable experience of art schools
For the successful work of a blacksmith artist, several conditions are necessary. First of all, of course, talent, as well as systematic training. Art education will play an important role in mastering the profession.
A good academic training in drawing, painting and composition is given by the St. Petersburg Art College. N. K. Roerich, Yaroslavl Art School, Yekaterinburg Art School. ID Shadra, Penza Art College. K. A. Savitsky, Ryazan Art College. G.K. Wagner, art schools of Suzdal, Pavlov and Orel. The last three institutions within the framework of the curriculum pay special attention to working with metal, graduating specialists of a wide profile.
The Suzdal blacksmith and restoration school has long been respected.
The Department of Metal Restoration has two specializations: restoration of museum metal (work with archaeological sites, church utensils, edged weapons, jewelry and household items) and the restoration of architectural metal (existing directly in the urban environment).
For successful work with such objects, students master forging and other ancient technologies: embossing, engraving, filigree, enamel. Along with practical classes in restoration and craftsmanship, they comprehend artistic disciplines (for more details about the Suzdal Art and Restoration School, see MM No. 2-3, 2007).
In the Oryol Art School, the specialization in metal art processing was opened at the arts and crafts department 15 years ago. Students of this direction study almost all technologies of working with metal (among them are chasing, forging, casting, jewelry), and when preparing a graduation project, they choose already specific method. As the main specialty, students master the ability to design artistic metal products, taking into account technology.
The main idea behind educational process, - to educate an artist who is able to catch fire with an idea, develop a project and translate it into material. Most of the learning tasks and theses have a specific binding to the objects of the city and region. Many graduates of the school subsequently successfully enter art universities.
Residents of Pavlov-on-Oka (Nizhny Novgorod region) and neighboring villages have been engaged in artistic metal processing since the 16th century, and the fame of their skill has spread far beyond Russia.
Pavlovsk artistic and industrial PU No. 23 aims to preserve, revive and develop folk crafts based on centuries-old traditions. Since its founding in 1945, the school has been producing metal craftsmen. Here they master plumbing, artistic chasing and forging, engraving and etching, filigree, hot enamels, etc. Based on this knowledge, graduates develop their own project and technology, according to which the finished product is to be created. It is noteworthy that most often the work is done in mixed media. Traditionally, not only local children enter the school - they come from neighboring regions and CIS countries.
Professional training: quickly and efficiently.
As for vocational schools, they offer precisely artisan blacksmith training in best sense this word.
In PU No. 2 of the city of Kovrov (Vladimir region), you can get the specialty of a hand-forged blacksmith. The guys are trained under the guidance of a master of industrial training, a talented blacksmith Gennady Shepurov. It is prestigious to study at this school, professionals from various fields come from here.
The former vocational school No. 107, and now the Rezhev Agricultural College (Sverdlovsk region), has been training blacksmiths of free hand forging for the last 10 years. The course is designed for 10 months - during this period you can master the basic skills of blacksmithing.
In the Krasnoyarsk PU No. 16, blacksmithing is taught as an elective so far. Nevertheless, this course is enough for the students to seriously "get sick" with the forge after their work experience and continue to master their favorite profession. In addition, the basic enterprise of the school - the plant "KRAS MASH" allocates considerable funds for the creation of a technical base for metalworking specialties. This will already allow next year declare a separate set of blacksmiths.
Blacksmithing is like magic. Fortunately, this magic can be mastered. Where to study blacksmithing where is this craft taught and how difficult is it? Let's find out.
Despite the fact that technical progress does not stand still and production technologies are developing by leaps and bounds, interest in the blacksmith profession does not dry out.
Many people want to know where to learn blacksmithing, the popularity of this interesting creative activity is growing, as well as the demand for forged products.
The legendary profession of a blacksmith attracts to itself, this craft came from the depths of centuries and hides many secrets. The modern blacksmith not only works in the old fashioned way, keeps traditions, but must also possess more knowledge and skills than his ancestors. Blacksmiths work both in industry and in the field of art (artistic forging) and combine the talents of an engineer and an artist.
Where is blacksmithing taught?
If we had asked a passer-by 100 years ago where they teach blacksmithing, he would have answered it without hesitation. Everyone knew how crafts are obtained. And we know about it from the literature. The teenager was given as an apprentice to a blacksmith, and he learned all the wisdom in practice every day.
At the same time, he worked quite hard in the forge, performing auxiliary operations and all ancillary work. And if the blacksmith had sons, then they inherited the “family business”. It was not so easy to get the opportunity to work from morning to night in exchange for knowledge and food. Fortunately, in modern world blacksmithing training takes place in much more comfortable conditions.
Let's see how and where you can learn blacksmithing in the realities of the 21st century.
The first and easiest option that comes to mind is to get an education in an educational institution. In Moscow, blacksmithing is taught, for example, by the Moscow Art and Industry Academy named after S. G. Stroganov, as well as the Moscow State Polytechnic University, where they teach artistic metal processing. There are several other universities and colleges with a rich history.
This option has pros and cons. The pluses include the fact that educational institutions provide a versatile and academic education. That is, after graduating from Stroganov, you will be able to draw sketches well for your creative works, you will be erudite in many issues, including the most modern and advanced methods of work, you will know much of what is not obvious standing at the anvil.
On the downside, experienced craftsmen believe that the path where blacksmithing is taught more theoretically, rather than practically, is divorced from the real craft. They believe that you can learn all the secrets of blacksmithing only in the forge, learning from a skilled craftsman. That is, the most ancient primordial version is the most correct one - to become an apprentice. In addition, training takes several years.
Where to learn blacksmithing in practice?
Let's move on to the second, most reliable way to learn blacksmithing, where to study for an interested neophyte. Find a forge in your region and ask to be apprenticed to a blacksmith. You may be lucky and your enthusiasm will be appreciated.
Many experienced blacksmiths consider this path to be the most correct and they themselves once chose it. This is more practical than studying theory for many years. You can learn different subtleties from the masters not only in theory, but also by watching with your own eyes how they work, participating in the process yourself. There are many blacksmith workshops in Moscow, where you can learn blacksmithing as an apprentice. There are even tutorials for beginners.
Blacksmithing - where to study on your own?
Another way, the most difficult one, is the self-taught enthusiast. You can try, going, as they say, by touch, try to work out your secrets of production yourself, making, making mistakes, redoing, thinking hard about mistakes and imperfections. There are master classes, videos, books on blacksmithing on the Internet. Also, you can chat on the forums, asking for advice from more experienced colleagues. Mastering such a complex and traditional skill from books is not a trivial task, and if you succeeded, you are definitely a talented person.
Which option do you prefer? It's up to you to decide. A true fan of this craft will easily find where to learn blacksmithing. In Moscow, you can find not only opportunities for learning, but also opportunities for practice, for example, renting a forge. So there would be a desire, but there is a place where you can create and try.
It is not as difficult as it may seem to arrange a forge in a garage, a barn, in a country house. The blacksmith makes many tools and devices himself, this can be learned. Introduction to the blacksmith craft can be started with a visit to the master class.
Just do not forget that qualities such as endurance and physical strength are important for the future blacksmith - this is hard enough physical labor to do it, you will have to pump up the biceps. Artistic abilities, taste, a sense of beauty, a sense of harmony, a good eye are important. You need to be careful and not have health problems.
If you have these qualities, if the complexity of the work does not frighten you, and the features of the work beckon, it’s up to you to choose any of the options where you can learn blacksmithing, or maybe try everything at once and the job will definitely find you.
Course duration: 2 months
Frequency of classes: Two times per week
Lesson duration: 4 ac. hours
Completion document: diploma
Price: 19000 rub.
Artistic forging- old blacksmith craft. Today it has a sufficient number of loyal fans. With the help of artistic forging, beautiful, refined and durable metal products are created. This art came to us from antiquity: in times Kievan Rus blacksmiths forged household items, tools, craftsmen's tools, weapons and armor, harness, etc. from iron.
Artistic forging of metal has always been considered a creative process. Fantasy and craftsmanship, ingenuity, virtuoso mastery of technology, excellent knowledge of the features and capabilities of metal make it possible to create highly artistic works of art.
Today, the popularity of forged products is only growing. Decorating a house, garden, apartment and office with forged interior items has become "fashionable" among wealthy people. Nothing can transform, emphasize the individuality of an apartment, house, garden as truly beautiful and stylish forged products: fences, openwork forged lattices, gates, gates, forged furniture and interior items. The popularity of these products is indisputable, since it is artistic forging that is one of the last "living" crafts in our age of standard products produced in mass circulation.
Exquisite artistic forging requires the maximum skill, sense of style, professionalism and experience from the master. However, thanks to the development modern technologies, which allow the blacksmith to make wonderful masterpieces much faster and better, the market is directly replete with various proposals for interior decoration. Forged products are distinguished by their functionality, since they act not only as decorative items, but also serve a specific purpose.
Blacksmith courses
The training program includes:
- art forging technology
- picture
- composition
- sculpture
- metals and alloys
- forging
- forging techniques
- tools and fixtures for all forging operations
- ways of artistic processing of products
Russian Academy of Knowledge Skills Mastery(READ) was formed on November 12, 2012 and includes Author's SCHOOLS of real MASTERS of their BUSINESS.
To date, the following author's schools have been working as part of the RAZUM Academy:
1. School of stove business I.V. Kuznetsova.
2. Uncle Vanya's carpentry school.
3. Diaghilev school of blacksmithing.
4. School of natural healing.
Diaghilev School of Blacksmithing.
We present to your attention the author's school of blacksmith Gennady Diaghilev. The surname Diaghilev has deep roots, and they remember him from the time of Ivan the Terrible. On the map of modern Russia, near Ryazan, there is the village of Dyagilevo, which was founded by the ancestors of Gennady Petrovich and the basis of their craft was and remains Blacksmithing. Improving his skills, Gennady in 1993 entered the department of artistic metal processing in Zlatoust and received an additional qualification "blacksmith for artistic metal processing." And while living in Kazakhstan, he met and mastered the eastern practices of artistic forging. But the foundation has always been, is and will be the skill passed on by the father and great-grandfathers. Those who wish to comprehend the basics and the Skill of the BLACKsmith's work here.
Plan of the education. Author's forging.
1. Materials science.
a) The composition of the steel. Its physical and chemical properties.
b) Plastic material. Structural features.
c) Decorative and artistic possibilities.
2. Material part.
a) The basic arrangement of the forge.
b) Safety precautions.
c) Terminology.
d) Blacksmith tools.
e) Auxiliary tools.
3. Drawing up a composition and drawing.
a) Styles, their origin and differences.
b) Texturing the material.
c) Patterns and patterns.
d) Individual development of templates, their development.
4. A selection of hand tools.
a) Technical and design features of the tool.
b) Methods for hardening the striker of handbrakes, drafts, trowels and upholstery.
5. Forging techniques.
a) Features and differences in forging in different ways.
b) Temperature regime, features of hardening.
6. Methods of connections.
a) Riveting blanks.
b) Clamp assembly.
c) Forge welding.
7. Product assembly.
a) Load calculation.
b) Drawing up a map of vector loads.
8. Finishing the metal surface.
a) Brushing.
b) Polishing.
c) Burning.
d) Oxidation.
Additional information:
1. The history of blacksmithing.
2. Reasons and features of local binding of forging methods.
3. Culture, customs, craft rules.
Lesson plan.
20% - theoretical part.
80% - practice, mastering forging techniques, developing the technique of striking and forging an individual tool.
Chantilly Castle - the second in France after Versailles Chantilly Castle how to get from Paris
Amusement park "The Land of Legends Theme Park" in Turkey
Holy places in Greece. Greece Orthodox. Pilgrimage to the feast of St. Nicholas
Picodi: All discounts in one place!
How to get to Dolmabahce Palace