Smythick Forge, (formerly known as Pley Forge) is a
traditional blacksmithing business based in Falmouth,
Cornwall.
The two blacksmiths of Smythick
Forge, Lisa Harrison and Dan O'Shea, were trained at the Internationally
Renowned National School of Blacksmithing, Hereford. There they learnt many
traditional techniques, some unchanged for thousands of years since the
discovery of iron. As such, all of the items produced
by Smythick Forge are made using traditional blacksmithing techniques. This
usually involves heating steel or iron in a forge fire, and forging it into
shape using hand hammers on an anvil. Although Smythick Forge produce a
range of items available for purchase, any item can be made to customer
specifications. From small housewares such as candlesticks and fire-irons, to
larger objects such as gates and outdoor cooking equipment, no job is dismissed
out of hand. Generally speaking, items from Smythick Forge are made of Mild Steel. Mild steel is the most commonly used material available to
blacksmiths in modern times, being a compound of Iron with trace amounts of
Carbon and other alloying elements. However, some items are forged from Wrought Iron, a material used by blacksmiths since the earliest discovery of Iron in the distant past. Since Wrought Iron is no longer produced at a commercial
level, Smythick Forge produces many items from locally found Wrought Iron - the
very nature of blacksmithing means the transformation from scrap to useable
material is almost second-nature to the competent smith.