Designing the perfect hand forged hook

Hawick and the Borders has a lot of very talented artists and craftspeople; we've visited a few makers markets recently that seem to be quite well attended, so we thought now the twins are a little older, exhibiting our work at a couple of events next year might work for us again. I love blacksmithing and am really enjoying spending a little more time working on the forge at the moment. I especially enjoy forging hooks, they’re simple but elegant & really effective – we wanted to create something that could combine our laser cut style of metalwork with the hand forged element. This blog describes the evolution of a single hand forged hook, from the idea in my mind to the finished piece.

The Black Fox Metalcraft Workshop

Our workshop is, very appropriately, a former smithy. It sits on the end of a row of three workers cottages, in the stunning Borthwick valley just outside of Hawick. Here's our Blacksmithing set up:

My initial idea

My first idea was a heart, as the shape lends itself to tapering naturally into the hook. Here's my first attempt:

It's cut in 5 mm steel, the chunkiness of which I really like. I've heated it and hammered using the ball of my hammer to create this eyecatching texture, however I've done it all the way down the hook which I think ruins the elegant curve of it. I think where I've drilled the holes works nicely though. The yellow block next to my hammer is beeswax, it adds a lovely traditional looking finish and a bit of shine if you apply it while the metal is hot, but not so hot it hisses!

My second attempt:

I thought a really nice touch would be to personalise this piece - I've used my letter / number punch set to add a significant date, it's set prominently in between the mounting holes. It'll be lovely as an iron wedding anniversary or valentines gift. The punches are really short though, meaning I was having to hold my hand 2" from a red hot bit of metal - I found it hard to hold the punch in place long enough to get a decent whack with a hammer while my fingers were singeing! Hence why the markings are not as clear as I'd like them to be.

I've rounded off the length of the hook though which I think is much more elegant, the rats tail end is far more effective in round bar... trouble is, turning flat bar into round is a skill in itself, which I felt added a bit too much time on - I don't want these to end up being prohibitively expensive. I think it works nicely with only applying the hammered texture on the heart shape, leaving the hook itself smooth.

Developing the Idea

I love Dragonflies. They are one of the only insects that can fly backwards, and up side down, and they are remarkably skilled at it, as well as being stunningly beautiful. Anyway, I drew this dragonfly shape and thought the tail lends itself perfectly to curling upwards into a hook.

My first attempt:

I was really excited when I'd finished this piece as I can see how well it is GOING to work when I get it right. Clearly the tail is far too long, and I've drilled the holes too big, I think they dominate a little too much. I've also forged in the hammered texture all over the Dragonfly; I realised afterwards this would look much more realistic if I left the body smooth.

My second attempt:

The Handmade Difference

Because these hooks are individually hand crafted, there will be slight variations between each piece. Individual hammer marks can not be re created precisely, so each hook has it's own unique pattern. It can vary based on the temperature of the metal, plus how hard I've hit it; these are both things that are not easy or necessary to control.

The shape of the hook can also vary a little. I'm pretty good at doing this by eye - I don't have any kind of template, I just bend it over the bick of the anvil at roughly the right angle so again, each one may be ever so slightly different. And I think that's a good thing - to stand out and be different in a world where it's so much more profitable to make everything exactly the same!