About C.Payne Blacksmith
Taught and guided by Hector Cole FWCB MBE. Craig was awarded the certificate of Merit by the Worshipful Company Of Blacksmiths in 2017.
It all started 6 years ago when, after 15 years, work started to get a bit mundane. I was a skilled engineer, but just seemed to be following customers drawings.
I was always good at art & design. After leaving school with A-levels and NVQs in art, I wanted a job in graphic design but found myself engineering. I enjoyed it at first, but soon craved to be more creative.
Hector Cole, a family friend and a well-known Malmesbury school teacher turned blacksmith ran lessons in his forge. I thought that maybe I should have a go and combine art with my knowledge of metal. As I stepped into Hectors forge, I remember him cautioning me, “be careful, blacksmithing is contagious!”. It was true; I became hooked.
The smell of coal and hot metal with all the noise and sparks heightens the senses. Something beautiful can be made from a common material regarded merely as strong and robust. I love to design things for customers and personally create them using traditional blacksmithing methods, without the need for machining or electric welding. To see the delight on a customers face at the finished article makes the hard work all worthwhile.
Designing hand forged bespoke ironwork including:
For a free no obligation quote get in touch.
Sometimes I have to tell people that the ‘traditional’ wrought iron gate they bought elsewhere is not as traditional as they originally thought, but was quickly rattled out in factory-like fashion without any love or care involved. All the parts were ordered from a catalogue and it was made of mild steel not wrought iron. After pointing out the familiar flat ends in the centres of the scrolls and the tell-tale signs of electric welding, the person is usually disappointed they bought the gate. It’s now very common as these fabricated items are cheap and easy to produce. If you want something that is traditionally made, bespoke and hand crafted then see a blacksmith.
The most common things I forge are hand rails and bannister rails. The most fun I’ve had was forging a knights sword to cut the cake at my best friends wedding. I asked him what length he would like, thinking a scaled down size, but, to my surprise he wanted it full size and sharp as well. So, I hand forged a thirty inch long knights sword – he was very pleased. Luckily, no arguments occurred during the wedding and sword was safely packed away once the cake had been cut.
So, I hope you can see that blacksmithing is my passion, not just a job, and I aim to inspire and educate as many people as possible in its true art.
