Blacksmithing Lingo

Alloy
Two metals mixed together to achieve a unique characteristic

Anvil
A heavy metalworking piece on which metal objects are hammered or forged

Cast Iron
Iron that has high carbon levels and no malleability, it is hard but very brittle; easily cast in a mould

Crucible
A container in which metals are melted


Drawing
Metalwork process where metal is forced or pulled through a piece of the anvil; used to make wire, bars, tubes, etc.

Forge
A brick or stone lined furnace where the smith heats the workpiece to a malleable temperature

Forging
The shaping of metal using force


Hardening
The process of making metal harder through beating it

Piercing
Producing a hole in the workpiece


Punch
A metal tool used with a hammer to drive pins in a workpiece

Quenching
The rapid cooling of a metal piece; typically to harden steel


Smelter
A high temperature furnace used to extract metals from their ores

Swaging
Forcing metal into or through a cavity to deform the metal into a different shape


Tempering
Making the metal “tougher” by heating or quenching it multiple times

Upsetting
Process of making metal thicker in one dimension through shortening the other

Wrought Iron
A common form of malleable iron that is  easily welded