• Reproduction
With Traditional Blacksmithing, there is very little completely ‘new’. Most products for practical use have evolved as materials and technology have changed but basic designs are similar. What you do get is regional or local variations in style either because the maker put his own preferences into the finished item or because the function might be slightly different from area to area.
Some basic examples:
- Gutter brackets for stone built buildings have a different tang to those for brick.
- Implements used by Shepherds would have variations in style as I found out during the research for props I was making for a TV production of ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’.
- Makers would have their own ‘signature’, which might be a makers stamp, or a recognisable feature in decorative work.
- Estate Fencing has different gaps or construction according to its use, thus on a deer estate it will be much higher.
So what about Reproduction? It’s is my favourite work as I prefer a customer to have an idea which I can interpret, often we start by showing examples of previous jobs, either using pictures, or samples in the workshop and compare this to the customers sample or sketch. Failing that reference to texts is the next step, and we can try and agree a period in history we are trying to emulate, bearing in mind that electrifying a design meant for candles in lighting requires some modification of course.
The next step is to agree the budget we will be working to, and for this I will apply the principle of Value Engineering. So we talk through what is most important in the design and execution of the project. Often there are parts that can be simplified or even left out if the budget is constrained, or we may incorporate some castings instead of all hand made parts. What we do not like doing is skimping on the finish and this is where many customers go wrong. They don’t consider the life expectancy of alternative quotes. The gates on the front page of our website have only been fully re-painted twice in some 24 years to my knowledge, because of the preparation that went into our original paint finish. They have however had periodic maintenance by ourselves, clients need to be willing to look after their investment.
