Rural Missouri - June 2023 - 31

by Zach Smith | zsmith@ruralmissouri.coop
but also the blacksmith's skilled hands.
The technique Pat uses today is quite differP
at
McCarty has never met a piece of junk.
Every piece of rusty iron or worn wood
he comes across has another purpose.
Screws from a broken chair become metal
hearts for Valentine's Day, an old bar of iron from
a farm silo transforms into a leaf with bronze
hues and a license plate becomes a small metal
basket. It just takes the right set of eyes to see
the shape the metal can take, and a skilled pair
of hands, a hammer and some heat to get it
there. But no matter what form it takes, old iron
has a new look when it leaves Washington Forge.
" It really interested me that you could take
an ugly, old rusty piece of iron, forge it, shape
it, move the metal around and turn it into
something beautiful, " Pat says. He adds that he
approaches woodworking the same way, using
donated lumber, wormholed boards and different
kinds of wood to build unique chests that
incorporate his hand-forged handles. " That kind
of thing really appeals to me. "
The fire to become a blacksmith was stoked in
Pat shortly after he returned stateside from his
time in the U.S. Navy Seabees. Inspired by his
father, he wanted to build his own house. More
specifically, he wanted to turn an old barn into
a house, and unable to find a suitable structure,
realized he'd have to build the barn, too.
" Of course, when you build something like that
you've got to have the big strap hinges and door
handles and all that traditional hardware - and
I like to salvage things, " Pat says with a smile.
" You never know. Everything has possibilities. "
Pat explored that potential every night after
putting in a full day's work as a telephone
repairman for Southwestern Bell. Naturally, he
needed a place to store his lumber and begin
the construction process, so Washington Forge
took shape. It was there he restored the hardware
to old church doors and windows found at
a secondhand shop, cut and notched the timbers
to frame his post-and-beam house and learned
to build concrete molds and brick arches. Word
traveled and soon Pat was helping people who
were moving and rebuilding old log cabins. Those
projects forced him to learn how to forge new
types of hinges and handles as well as light fixtures
and fireplace tools.
" I love antiques, " he says. " You see some of the
old hardware that's on those and they just have
a character that can't be duplicated with something
that is mass produced. "
Examples of Pat's work bear out that statement.
One of his signature pieces - a leaf with
a looping stem - is shaped the same way every
time but the character of the steel and the effect
of the hammer on heated metal make no two
finished pieces the same.
Transforming something otherwise relegated
to the junk pile shows not only the artist's eye
ent from the way he started four decades ago
as a fledgling smith. His late friend, mentor and
master blacksmith, Uri Hofi, at the former Ozark
School of Blacksmithing in Potosi taught Pat a
three-fingered technique using Uri's own style
of hammer. The loose grip allows the hammer to
naturally rebound, meaning it doesn't wear out
the blacksmith's arm. The slightly rounded edges
of the head lets the smith guide the hammer to
push metal five different ways instead of simply
smashing it flat. Pat says the best decision he
made was buying one of Uri's " Hofi Hammers, "
pointing out the date of March 1997 the Israeli
smith stamped into the tool.
" He had a pretty unique method and it took
me a while to get the hang of it, " Pat says as he
hammers out the broad part of the leaf. " It looks
like it may be sloppy, but it's very accurate and
it's very powerful. The weight is right up close
here where you have some control. "
Pat adds that Uri and his fellow instructors
taught him another important tip that he uses
every time he starts a day in the forge, whether at
his own shop or when teaching a class: start with
something simple. It may be one of his leaves or
a nail, but the project helps students learn the
basics of heating, moving and controlling metal
in short order with something to show for it at
the end of the exercise. For a blacksmith of any
skill, it sets the tone for the day's work.
" It gets your mindset right, " Pat says. " You get
your muscles limbered up, your tools out, your
fire ready, and then when you're done you move
on to whatever it is you're going to make. "
Even when making simple objects, Pat can't
resist the temptation to try and learn something
new. One of his favorite experiments is to make
something he's done before but using a different
metal. The process helps him learn the different
characteristics of working with the material and
what they change in the finished product.
" There's a certain prettiness to the metal when
it comes straight out of the fire, " Pat says as he
eyes the glowing end of an old iron rod, " but you
can do a whole lot more to it. "
That's where Pat's portable propane forges,
power hammers, welders, grinders and buffers all
come into play, bringing sheen, color and texture
to some of his most popular items including
hummingbird feeders, metal flowers and letter
openers with glass marbles in the handles. They
also help speed along production during the two
weeks of the year when Pat preps for his annual
residency during the Silver Dollar City Harvest
Festival. This fall marks his 21st year as part of
the festival and Pat always makes sure to have
plenty of items on hand. " People are real receptive
to it. They come back every year looking for
you and they want to buy something new and see
what you've made, " he adds.
JUNE 2023 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 31
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Rural Missouri - June 2023

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