One of the best things about being a blacksmith, is the fact that our craft allows us to make many of the tools needed for blacksmithing— hammers, tongs, chisels, jigs, and so on. It’s almost like blacksmiths were the original 3D printer of the craft world.
Nowadays, it’s usually just faster and easier to purchase such tools— a $5 yard sale hammer will move steel just like a hammer that takes hours to make.
That being said, the forge is the main tool that enables us blacksmiths to actually do blacksmithing. Regardless of all the other processes we use to make our line of products, the one thing that all of our pieces have in common is that at some point they were heated up in the forge.
We’ve always used homemade forges here in the shop. Initially, this was for financial reasons-- since a brand new forge can run you several hundred dollars at its cheapest. But, as Wicks Forge has grown, our needs have become more specific. Now, a custom built forge is the only way to ensure that all of the varied tasks we have can be accommodated for on a daily basis.