by Alan Rogers

In the spirit of "This Old House" and "The Woodwright's Shop", Forge & Anvil entertains and informs. Blacksmiths were once essential to every community as they were the skilled craftsmen who made farming implements, tools and hardware for other craftsmen, formed horseshoes and tack and fabricated and repaired cooking utensils. With the coming of the machine age, many of the products blacksmiths made are stamped out or fabricated on assembly lines. Hand made or crafted metal objects have a more significant meaning in today's mass produced world and modern blacksmiths are creating functional objects in their own tradition. Forge & Anvil brings the exciting sounds and images of working blacksmith shops into your living room. Glowing hot steel and hammers pounding elastic metal into beautiful, functional shapes make the series entertaining as well as informative. Alan talks with master blacksmiths from across the country, from Atlanta to Santa Fe to Minneapolis and learns how they became blacksmiths. Then we watch as these nationally recognized artisans transform metal into functional and attractive articles. Alan Rogers shows viewers the basic techniques all blacksmiths use to hand forge tools, furniture, weapons, architectural details, horseshoes and works of sculpture. Then, in the project segments, he inspires hobbyist viewers to practice the techniques on their own following in the tradition of master blacksmiths across the USA.

134 minutes (2 video cassettes)