A metalsmith or simply smith is a craftsperson fashioning useful items (for example, tools, kitchenware, tableware, jewelry, armor and weapons) out of various metals. Smithing is one of the oldest metalworking occupations. Shaping metal with a hammer (forging) is the archetypical component of smithing. Often the hammering is done while the metal is hot, having been heated in a forge. Smithing can also involve the other aspects of metalworking, such as refining metals from their ores (traditionally done by smelting), casting it into shapes (founding), and filing to shape and size.
The prevalence of metalworking in the culture of recent centuries has led Smith and its equivalents in various languages to be a common occupational surname (German Schmidt or Schmied, Portuguese Ferreiro, Ferreir...
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Damascus bladesmith.jpg
A sword maker of Damascus, Syria
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Detail of metalsmith art
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Abdón Punzo working on copper vessel in his workshop in Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacán
Theodor Kittelsen - Illustration for Johan Herman Wessel's poem Smeden og bageren (2).jpg
Illustration for Johan Herman Wessel's poem.