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Overview
Blacksmiths heat metal, usually steel, in a forge and shape it with hammer, chisel and anvil into artisanal metal products, ornamental work or horseshoes.
In job descriptions, look for furnace temperature, anvils, welding equipment, metal joining, design drawings, marking designs on metal, mould structures, gauge monitoring and workpiece preparation.
Explore this occupation
Search jobsWork context
Blacksmith work is centred on the forge, furnace heat, anvil, hammer, chisels, metal pieces and finishing of shaped products. The work can include drawings, marking designs, heating, forming, joining metals, welding and checking gauges.
Skills and specializations
Useful skills include maintaining furnace temperature, preparing workpieces, reading design drawings, marking metal, using welding equipment and joining metals. Specialization can move toward ornamental ironwork, horseshoes, restoration, non-ferrous metals or custom forged parts.
Salary context
Salary context depends on workshop type, product complexity, material, hand-forging skill, welding scope, customer commissions, restoration work and whether the role includes design, installation or small-business responsibility. This guide gives no salary amounts.
Career paths
Experience can lead toward artisan blacksmithing, ornamental metalwork, forge supervision, restoration work, welding-heavy fabrication, metal design, self-employment or teaching practical forging techniques.
Good to know
Check whether adverts mention forge work, furnace temperature, anvils, welding, design drawings, ornamental products, horseshoes, moulds or gauges. Those details show the level of craft, repair or production work.
Editorial note
This guide is editorial occupation context. It is not official labour-market statistics or salary data for this exact occupation.
Where might this occupation occur?
This occupation may occur in several kinds of economic activity. Here are some examples and other occupations that may be found in the same areas.
Forging and shaping metal and powder metallurgy
This is one example. Other occupations in this activity include mechanical forging press worker, drop forging hammer worker and farrier.
Explore this activityThese examples offer an overview but do not show every economic activity where the occupation may occur.
About this information
The selection is based on how occupations are connected to economic activities in ESCO and NACE. Only a few examples are shown to make the information easier to use. The occupations were selected because they are close in occupation area and important skills. The examples are not a ranking. They do not show where most people work, where demand is highest, or which occupation is best suited to a particular person.
Map overview
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O*NET relationships
No official O*NET relationship is available for this occupation in the current mapping. You can still use the other occupation details.
NACE Rev. 2.1
Economic activities linked to this occupation.
25.4Forging and shaping metal and powder metallurgy
Alternative labels
Occupation group
Blacksmiths, hammersmiths and forging press workers (7221)
Source facts
| ESCO URI | http://data.europa.eu/esco/occupation/fccecd5d-ad90-41a8-bb89-96d7595abca3 |
|---|---|
| ESCO code | 7221.1 |
| ISCO group | 7221 |
| Concept type | Occupation |