Blacksmith v. silversmith

While there are similarities in their crafts, silversmiths and blacksmiths work with very different metals in different manners. Silver, being soft and ductile, is worked at room temperature. Iron and steel only become soft and malleable under extreme heat. “Blacksmiths work everything hot, while I do everything cold except for soldering,” says Nicola. Blacksmiths call their shaping tools ‘anvils’; silversmiths call theirs ‘stakes’. A blacksmith’s furnace is a ‘foundry’; a silversmith’s is a ‘hearth’. Traditionally silversmiths used charcoal- or cokefired forges. Modern silversmiths generally use gas torches or sometimes laser-beam welders.

The inside of Nicola’s goblets are gold plated