Plate I.
Forge a hook yourself.
Work the bellows until the iron glows, then strike while it is hot. Draw it out, point it, roll the scroll. If it cools, back in the fire. That is the whole trade.
A cold bar of iron. Hold the bellows to heat it.
- Draw out
- Point
- Scroll
Keyboard: hold Space on the bellows, press Enter on Strike. ·
Your hook is finished.
Forged in strikes and heats.
The smith makes the same one in about forty minutes, from a bar like yours, and finishes it in beeswax.
Plate II.
Catalogue of iron work.
Everything below is made to order at the hearth, from mild steel bar, and finished in black beeswax unless you ask for paint. Allow three weeks.
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No. 14
Wall hook, scrolled
Coats, ropes, a lantern. Two countersunk screws.
£12 or four for £44
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No. 22
Fire poker with twist
Square bar, twisted hot, ring handle. 76 cm.
£38
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No. 31
Strap hinges, the pair
Fishtail ends, for doors and gates up to 60 kg.
£64
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No. 36
Drop latch
Lifts with a finger, falls shut on its own weight.
£46
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No. 40
Candle sconce
Drip pan and a scrolled arm. Takes a dinner candle.
£52
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No. 52
Garden gate
Made to your opening. We come and measure.
from £1 450
Plate III.
The smith at Mill Yard.
Four generations have kept the same hearth alight at Mill Yard. The bellows are new leather on the old frame; the anvil is the one bought in 1898, and it still rings when you strike it true.
Nothing here is cast or bought in. Every hook starts as a straight bar, every scroll is rolled over the horn, every rivet is set hot. It takes longer. It also lasts: a gate from this forge hung in 1931 still swings on its first hinges, two streets away.
Visitors are welcome on weekday mornings. Come in old clothes. On Saturdays the smith teaches beginners to make a hook, much like the one above, and you take it home.
| Hearth | Coal, side-blown, built 1898 |
|---|---|
| Anvil | 140 kg, chained to quiet the ring |
| Guarantee | 25 years on gates |
| Saturday class | £165, tea and the hook included |
Plate IV.
Order slip.
Add pieces from the catalogue and they are written in below. We reply with a date and a price for carriage within two days. Nothing is paid until it is made.