Heavy Metal

Master blacksmiths and novices alike looking to forge the long-lasting trade into an art on Hawaii Island spent Saturday working hot iron in Holualoa.

Hammers, chisels and other tools clanging on hot iron rang throughout the area as people of all skill levels learned and honed their techniques for working metal into pieces of art, everyday necessities and tools. From gate latches and small knives to artful pieces twisted and adorned with leaves, items of all sorts were forged.

“It’s magic,” said Ethan Froney, on-site blacksmith at Anna Ranch in Waimea. “You’re taking a material people think of as hard and immovable and forging and exploring its plasticity.”

Froney and about a dozen others took part in the first-ever Hawaii Blacksmithing and Metal Arts Workshop held this weekend in an effort to promote the art and trade of blacksmithing on Hawaii Island, said Tai Lake, a local woodworker who coordinated the workshop at his Holualoa home and studio.

The workshop also featured hands-on training from professional blacksmith Tom Joyce, a New Mexico resident who has taken numerous awards for his metalworking.

Though a number of blacksmiths can be found on the Big Island, Lake said no organized group has been established for those interested in the trade to share tools and knowledge. He hopes the workshop will not only become an annual tradition, but also foster blacksmithing as an art genre and trade here.

“It’s about getting people here aware of metal and the possibilities for metal art, which could create another genre of art to take off,” said Lake, noting that blacksmithing in Hawaii has for many years been primarily a trade rather than art. “Once it kicks in as an art, it will really open the door to other things.”

Blacksmithing dates back thousands of years. The smithy played one of the most important roles in a village because it was the blacksmith who was tasked with not only making but fixing everyday necessities often integral to survival.

“If something was broken, you needed a tool or plow made, then you went to the blacksmith,” he said. “They were the non-college-bound geniuses of the village.”

Then came the 19th century American Industrial Revolution and its machines, which reduced the need for the specialized blacksmith. Yet, despite losing such an important role in the village, the trade of blacksmithing continues on — even in Hawaii.

“It’s growing, I may be the only working smith on the island, but definitely I see it (becoming more popular) here,” said Froney.

For Sammie Stanbro, a Holualoa resident and substitute art teacher, metalworking is really fun — especially when you consider the trades long historical importance.

“When you consider all of that, everything behind it, (blacksmithing) is really interesting and fun to learn,” she said while making a lilikoi vine-themed gate latch to replace a store-bought piece that she said quickly broke.