Forging — what is it?

2023-10-11

What images does your imagination draw at the word “forging”? This is probably a hammer, an anvil, and powerful blacksmiths, busy with their heavy, honorable craft.

Absolutely fair. Remember the expression “strike while the iron is hot” in the famous movie? It is the high-temperature deformation of the metal under pressure that is called “forging”. Moreover, despite the existence of cold hand forged commodities, hot metal processing remains the only way to create true blacksmithing masterpieces.

In order for you to understand the difference and specifics of both methods, we decided to tell you what metal forging is, and it makes sense to start with a historical background.

Blacksmith – the most honorable profession

Back in the 7th century, BC. e. people made primitive weapons and jewelry from copper. But forging was rarely used because copper products were easier to cast.

Around 1200 B.C. e. man learned to extract iron from ores, which was the beginning of the Iron Age and the development of metallurgy.

The real heyday of blacksmithing fell in the Middle Ages, when fences, gates, weapons, household items, candelabra, and furniture were forged by hand. Forging is a delicate art. Good blacksmiths are, first of all, creative people who work in jewelry, able to give the product the most unusual shape and decorate it with an intricate pattern.

Anyone was not allowed into the forge, so blacksmithing was covered with myths and legends, and the blacksmiths themselves were revered and attributed supernatural abilities to them.

Since then, many centuries have passed, so it does not hurt to find out what metal forging is in the modern sense.

Forging types

The demand for a hand-forged gift is extremely high, so forging technologies are being improved to this day. Products and blanks made by forging are called “forging”.

So, today there are three types of metal forging:

• free – this is a method of metal processing, in which the workpiece is not limited by any forms or is fixed on the anvil at one end. Free forging is more often understood as a manual hot metal processing method;

• machine forging of metal is carried out on special equipment – forging hammers weighing from 40 kg to 5 tons, hydraulic presses, or forging machines. With the help of machine forging, products weighing tens of tons are obtained;

• stamping is a common metal deformation technology in which the workpiece is placed in a mold – a stamp. Mass-produced objects are produced by the stamping method.

Now you have an idea of what metal wrought decor is, but the review will be incomplete without mentioning the main technologies by which steel blanks are processed!