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Training at The Blacksmith Forge

The Blacksmith Forge: 2004

“You work that you may keep peace with the earth and the soul of the earth”

A ploughman

The Blacksmith Forge in Observatory, Cape Town, is a place where one feels the soul of the earth palpably. Situated in the old legendary theatre, The Bijou, the spacious forge is home to a large number of anvils, forges and tools, including five power hammers in different states of repair. One of them, a Nazel 5B built in 1905, was bought from a company that had used it to forge stainless flanges for a nuclear power station. The Dodge parked in the driveway adds to the atmosphere of a place that is both modern in its creative output, and traditional in its preservation of an ancient art.

Conrad Hicks built The Blacksmith Forge from nothing: “I started my forge as a hobby in March, 1992, with one anvil and a hammer passed down from my grandfather, and it unexpectedly turned into a business. I collected as many tools as possible from scrap yards and junk shops, and fortunately the jobs came in.”

As the forge grew, he employed and trained many staff, some of whom became blacksmiths in their own right. At present he has three full-time blacksmiths and an apprentice working with him in the forge – Wilfred Ndiweni, who at the age of 60 has a wealth of knowledge he has inherited from his father and his own experience, Michael Pearce who is in charge of making the range of décor and contemporary homeware products and Ismail Hanief, a graduate who forges some of the designs that Conrad has conceived. Gilton Mangwara from Zimbabwe is in the process of learning the art. With the combined skills of these men, the Forge produces a broad scope of work, with most of the income coming from architectural ironwork designed by Conrad in his own style.

“The process of creating something of beauty for a client involves doing an analysis of their taste. I show them lots of photos, drawings, samples and slides of my own and see what catches their attention. I also take them on a tour through the different aspects of blacksmithing so that they are aware of the plastic malleable nature of steel. If a client expresses appreciation for just one or two join details, that is enough to generate an entire complex gate design. Everything starts from the joining method. Once the joins, which are dictated by structural constraints, are chosen then the rest follows – then only can I design. I must also know what the purpose of the piece is. It could be a statement about the status of a person or it could have sculptural references that only have meaning to me. The piece must say something otherwise the design has no criteria on which to base aesthetic judgements.”

Conrad Hicks has an unclassifiable style, flair and personality, and prefers to steer clients away from ideas that he considers unpleasing or pedestrian. “I never do a job that I do not like or for a client that I do not like, or copy design straight off. I always try to design something that I am excited about, incorporating things that I want to try out. That way I find that I become known for my own style and clients come to me asking for what I am good at doing.”

Keeping the fires burning at the forge is difficult in an economic climate where mass production and cheaper, less labour intensive items are in demand. However, people who are able to afford the work, and who are looking for something different, ensure that there will always be a market for artistic blacksmiths like Conrad.

“I have found that by spending more time designing I can save a lot on unnecessary or overly decorative details. I try to use as few components as possible to make the design work and do as much as possible to fulfil its function. I do this not only to satisfy the client but also to stimulate them so that when they look at their piece ten years later they will say to themselves, ‘Now I know why he insisted on doing it that way'.”

Looking at Conrad's extensive and varied portfolio one can see that the scope of his skill is profound, and that The Blacksmith Forge is truly an awe-inspiring place. Someone at a conference once stood up to proclaim that he was the best in the world at his profession – and from that moment on he was.

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