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On December 21, Qidong, Jiangsu Province ushered in a cold weather of -7 °C, and the blacksmith in Dafeng Town, Donghai Town, was "steaming". The 69-year-old Chen Bing used tongs to clip steel plates from an old-fashioned stove and then used an air hammer to hammer and forge them, and soon a farm tool took shape. Knives, shovels, shovels, nails, ...... In this blacksmith shop, which has a history of nearly 100 years, the sound of "clanging bells" hardly stops for a day. Chen Bing, who inherited this craft from his ancestors, has been engaged in this industry all his life, and now he is also facing his own predicament. Now no one wants to be a blacksmith, and if anyone wants to learn, I will teach him without reservation. Chen Bing said.
△ Chen Bing and his wife are busy in the blacksmith shop
Three generations have inherited the blacksmith shop, and the villagers of ten miles and eight villages have come to buy it
In the shop of more than 100 square meters, traces of time can be seen everywhere. Raw materials and scraps were piled up at the entrance, the walls of the room were blackened by smoke, an old-fashioned stove with a chimney, and three huge air hammers were placed on top of each other. This blacksmith opened in the late 30s of the last century, and Chen Bing's grandfather was a blacksmith and opened this small shop. The blacksmithing craft and this shop have been passed down through three generations and are now in the hands of Chen Bing.
△ Chen Bing at work
I haven't moved for so many years, and people from all over the country have come to me. I started Xi with my father in my 20s and have been in this industry all my life. Chen Bing told the Modern Express reporter that the ancient traditional craft of iron-making was very important to the countryside in the past. To grow crops and harvest grain, every household has to use farm tools, and the demand is even greater when the farm is busy. In the past, the conditions were limited, and the farm tools and knives mainly relied on a pair of hands, which was a "hard work" with real hard work. Now with tools such as air hammers, it saves a lot of effort for the blacksmith.
△ The steel sheet is burned red
A seemingly inconspicuous piece of steel is cut into raw material "blanks" and fed into a blazing charcoal fire. When it was burned to red, Chen Bing took it out and placed it on the anvil. The air hammer was rhythmically hammered up and down, while Chen Bing skillfully moved the position of the steel sheet back and forth to make it evenly stressed, and bent down from time to time to check the thickness of the steel sheet. When the hammered steel becomes darker, it needs to be re-fed into the furnace to heat ...... This is repeated until the tool is basically formed, and then it enters the quenching step.
△ Grinding wheel grinding
Different tools need different degrees of fire, and some use water and some oil when quenching. The mastery of this is the most test of the blacksmith's kung fu, and it requires long-term accumulation of experience. Chen Bing said. After the kitchen knife is cooled, the grinding wheel is used to sharpen it repeatedly to make the knife surface shiny and sharp. Weld the handle, install the wooden handle, and wait until a series of steps are completed, and a kitchen knife that has been "tempered" is finally completed.
Although kitchen utensils can be easily bought in supermarkets now, the neighbors still like to come to the blacksmith shop to order knives. The weight of the knife is also different, there are three and a half pounds, there are two and a half pounds, and you can choose according to their respective needs. The knife is more durable and sharper, even if the knife edge is tough and rolled after a long time, it can be reprocessed back and forth, and it can be taken back and continued to be used. Chen Bing said.
In order to let the villagers get the farm tools and kitchen utensils they need as soon as possible, Chen Bing will make some commonly used ones in the shop every day. This blacksmith shop works almost all year round. Every morning at 4 o'clock, Chen Bing would start to get up to prepare for the day's work, and he would be busy until the evening.
In addition to the villagers, there are also companies in the city. There was a company that wanted to customize a kind of nail, but the machine made it could not meet the requirements, so it came to me to customize. Chen Bing told the Modern Express reporter that he has been cooperating with this company for more than 10 years now, and he has to deliver seven or eight thousand pieces every month.
△ Chen Bing's hands have been deformed
There is no one to inherit the old craft, and they hope to find a successor
Now Chen Bing is 69 years old, but he still sticks to this old business and does not stop for a day. Over the years, his hands had been blackened, and his knuckles had been deformed by long-term exertion. Accompanied by flying sparks every day, there are still many burns on his body. The hardest thing is summer, guarding the stove in the hot weather, which is a real "sweat like rain".
It's dirty and tiring, and it's hard to recruit people to help right now. Now it costs about 250 yuan to hire someone to help with a day's work. Chen Bing told the Modern Express reporter that there were seven or eight helpers in the shop before, and now they are no longer able to bear the labor costs. His son is engaged in wedding photography in Huilong Town, and his grandson is studying in Nanjing, and no one in his descendants wants to Xi learn this craft, let alone inherit this nearly 100-year-old shop.
I always hope that someone will continue to learn Xi craft, and I will definitely pass on my experience and skills to him without reservation. Chen Bing said that his greatest wish is that this century-old shop can "keep the fire continuous", and the iron-striking craft can continue to be passed on and bring convenience to the neighbors.
Modern Express + Reporter Yan Junchen Hua Yu text / photo
(Proofread by Hu Tao)