Some like it hot
Welder-turned-blacksmith hammers out a hobby
For years, the shared passion David and Audrey Ann Krzeminski had for learning about life in early America meant day trips to antique shops, auctions and historic sites. “But whenever I would go to a show and there was a demonstration by a blacksmith. I would think, ‘I can do that, I already work with metal,’’’ said Mr. Krzeminski, who worked as a welder. That was a dozen years ago. Today, he is a welder-turned-blacksmith whose tool chest spans two centuries, from modern hammers to tongs from the 1800s.
“In Colonial times every town had a blacksmith to repair tools, make hinges and whatever else they could for farm living,” he said.
His specialty is early-American works from the 1700s and 1800s, such as curtain tie-backs, iron gates, garden markers, candle holders, key racks, utensils and more. Prices range from a modest $3 to a collectors-only $1,000. He will next sell his works from Friday to Sunday, July 13-15, during “Vintage Market Days” at the Monroeville Convention Center.
Mr. Krzeminski creates on his 20-acre farm in Allegheny Township, named the 1824 Walker Farmhouse, which includes the couple’s home, barn, pool, tractor and potting sheds. The farmhouse belonged to Mrs. Krzeminski’s great-great-greatgrandfather Jonathan Walker and was dismantled at its former site in Sarver, Butler County, and transported to the Krzeminskis’ property in 2006. Mr. Krzeminski spent the next four years rebuilding the structure.
The farmhouse also serves as a museum and showplace/store for Mr. Krzeminski’s works and he says it serves as a constant source of inspiration for ideas. It is open only forspecial events.
He crafted the curtain tie-back modeled after German antiques to lend authenticity to its parlor. He also made a candle chandelier from an 18th-century low post rope bed used in early-American homes as a bed and an herb drying rack that would have blended perfectly with the farmhouse’s original decor.
Healso crafted an outhouse to bolster the SEE FORGE, PAGE LX-2
ambiance, enhancing the project with hinges and door handle/latch he made out of iron.
“I enjoy the process, I like being creative,” he said.
The blacksmith process begins with starting a fire fueled with coal that must be heated to 1,000 to 2,000 degrees Farenheit.
A hand-cranked blower is used to move air onto the coal to get it burning. He then puts the iron into the fire. While he continues to crank the blower, the iron is heated until it is yellow hot. Using tongs, he lifts the iron and brings it to the anvil.
“It’s a smoky job,” Mr. Krzeminski warned.
There the iron is shaped with a hammer. The shaping continues until the desired figure is obtained. For, say, a five-pronged coat rack, shaping could take hours.
The final step, if multiple pieces are involved, is riveting the pieces together using a hand-cranked drill press. Bending finished products requires a leg vice with two parallel jaws, one fixed and one movable. The press and the leg vice are from the 1800s.
“The wonderful thing about blacksmithing is that it preserves a craft,” said Bill Robertson, treasurer of the Pittsburgh Area Artist-Blacksmiths Association.
Mr. Robertson, of Bridgeville, said there are 302 members in the Pittsburgh area. Chris Holt, group secretary, said members male and female range in age from 16 to 90.
“What we all have in common is an interest in blacksmithing, and the preservation of fine iron work,” she said. The group recently refurbished the original gates at the Allegheny Cemetery on Penn Avenue.
“As a craft, we are still a very small family,” said Mr. Robertson, whose specialty is Medieval chandeliers, lighting and locks.
While Mr. Krzeminski is blacksmithing, his wife stays busy conducting workshops and giving tours through the farmhouse museum.
Her husband notes that while he enjoys all aspects of blacksmithing, he does not engage in what the blacksmiths in old TV westerns usually did: making horseshoes.
“That’s a farrier and is another art,’’ he said.
For more information, go to 1824walkerfarmhouse.com