Inside the Blacksmith Shop

Blacksmithing is one of Falling Creek’s special sign-up activities, so boys choose it separately from their regular schedule. When they sign up, they spend an entire morning or afternoon in the shop, replacing their regular activity periods. It is a popular choice, and boys may occasionally find themselves on a waitlist, but most get a chance to participate pretty quickly and can sign up again if they want more time at the forge.

For William A. from Shreveport, Louisiana, getting a spot meant something else, too. Blacksmithing has an age requirement, and William had turned ten this past spring. This was his first summer old enough to participate and his first chance to work in the shop.

The requirements start before boys leave the main part of camp. Blacksmithing campers wear long cotton pants, such as jeans or khakis, cotton shirts, and closed-toe shoes. Technical fabrics are not allowed. Once they arrive at the shop, they put on eye protection and heavy leather aprons.

The rules posted outside are just as specific. Treat all metal as hot. No running or horseplay. “Hot iron moving!” alerts everyone when someone is carrying heated metal through the shop. “Hot metal on deck!” warns that hot metal or another hazard has fallen to the ground. “Last heat” signals a mandatory water break, while “final heat” tells campers to finish their work and gather their belongings.

Falling Creek maintenance manager and Blacksmithing lead David Echeverria reviews those procedures with first-time campers before they begin. David first came to Falling Creek in 2014 as a Blacksmithing and Pottery counselor. He had never done blacksmithing before, but with a background as an artist, he quickly took to the craft.

To show why the first rule matters, David gathered the boys around the quench pool and held up a piece of metal that had cooled from red-hot back to gray. It looked ordinary, but when he lowered it into the water, it immediately hissed and sizzled. The boys then put their own hands into the cold quench water. The demonstration made the point: metal does not have to look hot to still be hot.

With the first-time boys seated on a nearby bench, David demonstrated the basic process. He showed them how to put the metal into the coal forge, use the airflow to control the heat, handle the piece with tongs, and move between the forge and anvil. Then he made an arrowhead while they watched, giving them a quick look at the process they were about to try themselves.

From there, the group divided by experience. Boys who had been to Blacksmithing before could get started on their projects, while first-timers worked one-on-one with a counselor. Jay Foster of Atlanta, Georgia, a six-year camper now in his second year on staff, worked with William and stayed nearby as the morning progressed.

At first, William spent some time getting familiar with the station, picking up the tools and putting them back down before moving closer to the forge with his metal. “If it looks not that hot, it’s still like 1,000 degrees!” he said. “The hardest part of blacksmithing is trying to grab the metal and not burn yourself. It’s a little scary.”

Jay coached him through the details as he worked. “Put your metal all the way into the fire,” he told William. “It is just sitting on the coals.” Later, after William had spent some time at the anvil, Jay stepped in again. “Let’s try hammering that into diagonals. You’ve done a good job making it flat.” William kept doing the heating and hammering himself, with Jay helping him understand what the metal needed next.

The basic rhythm does not change much: heat the metal, take it to the anvil, hammer it into shape, check the work, and put it back into the forge. What changes is what boys are able to do with that process. A camper who spends several mornings or afternoons in the shop can often make an arrowhead, a J-hook, and a leaf within a week, giving boys in a two-week session enough time to finish several projects and see improvement from one to the next.

The coal-fired forges at Falling Creek add another part to the learning process. Most modern blacksmithing shops use gas forges, which allow the heat to stay more consistent, but Falling Creek still uses coal. Here, boys have to learn how to manage the fire themselves, adding coal, watching the fire and controlling the airflow to get the temperature they need. It takes more attention and sometimes more time, but that is part of learning the craft.

Bennett M. from Orlando, Florida, wanted to try Blacksmithing in part because his dad had done it. He quickly learned that managing the fire is part of the skill. “You have to check the temperature and make sure it’s hot, but not too hot,” Bennett said. “I melted it the first time.” He was ready to keep working. “I think I’m strong enough to stick with it.” Nearby, James G. from Tulsa, Oklahoma, had already made an arrowhead and a J-hook and was partway through a leaf. “It’s one of my favorite activities,” James said.

Across the shop, boys were at different points in the same progression. One might still be learning how deeply to place the metal in the coals while another was working on the shape and detail of a more advanced project.

Ford S. from Spartanburg, South Carolina, is one of the boys who keeps coming back. Now in his sixth summer at Falling Creek, he has made five or six projects and continues to pursue spots in the shop because he wants to keep progressing.

“Blacksmithing is why I come back,” Ford said. “I love having to work hard at putting the metal where you want it to be. It’s a struggle, but it’s amazing.”

Ford has learned to watch the temperature, adjust the airflow, and pay attention to what the metal is doing rather than simply hitting it harder. “This is my main thing,” he said. “I really want to progress at Blacksmithing.” He also likes working alongside boys who are interested in the same thing. While projects are heating, they watch one another, compare what they are doing, and offer advice. “We all like to work hard, and we all like to hang out in the shop,” Ford said. “We give each other tips. We’re learning at the same time.”

Not all of the work happens at the anvil. Nathan Eels of Charleston, South Carolina, a third-year Falling Creek staff member, will sometimes redirect a boy who needs a water break toward another job in the shop. Campers fill buckets with coal, rinse buckets, clean up, and help get materials ready. They are small jobs, but they are also part of learning how a working shop operates.

Nathan is studying architectural blacksmithing at the American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, and his work at Falling Creek this summer is part of an externship. At camp, much of his focus comes down to what he describes simply as “teaching boys how to be really capable handling the tools.”

Getting there takes some persistence. “They have to have a lot of perseverance to overcome the fear of getting near the fire, the fear of burns, the noise and chaos,” Nathan said. “I’ve seen a lot of boys get mad at themselves for messing up a project. But bravery is the biggest trait we culture in Blacksmithing, and that creates great work.”

Nathan also reminds boys that what they are doing is art. Getting frustrated with a mistake and hammering harder does not necessarily improve the project. They have to stop, look at what happened, listen to some advice, and figure out how to correct it. Dawson E. from Chicago, Illinois, who was back in the shop for his third time, appreciated the physical side of the process, too. “It’s a great way to take anger or sadness and whack it out on the metal,” Dawson said. “Hit it hard. It helps you get stronger.” The longer boys work, though, the more they learn that strength has to be paired with control.

Nathan has seen something else develop during all that time together. “We’ve had so many great conversations up here,” he said. Ford had noticed much the same thing. Boys spend several hours together around the same forges and anvils, working on individual projects but often learning from the people beside them.