Blacksmithing Terms Glossary: Plain-English Definitions for Beginners

How to use this glossary

Blacksmithing has its own vocabulary, and most of it describes something you can point at: a part of the anvil, a shape in the steel, a color in the fire. This page groups terms by theme instead of A to Z, so you can read a section while standing next to the thing it names. Each entry ends with a short "you'll hear this when..." cue, so the word makes sense the first time someone says it across the forge.

Deep how-tos live elsewhere on the site. When a term needs more than a few sentences, the entry points you to the full guide. If you are still setting up, start with blacksmithing for beginners: your first forge and come back here as a reference.

Anvil anatomy

Anvil words come up in the first five minutes of any class. For buying advice, see choosing your first anvil without overspending.

Face. The flat top working surface, where most hammering happens. You'll hear this when someone says "keep it flat on the face."

Horn. The tapered, rounded cone at one end. It is the place for bending curves and opening up rings. You'll hear this when a teacher says "bend that around the horn."

Heel. The back end of the anvil, opposite the horn. Its square edges suit sharp bends. You'll hear this when someone asks you to "hang it over the heel."

Step (or table). The lower ledge between the face and the horn. Many smiths use it for cutting with a chisel, because a chisel struck there will not damage the hardened face. You'll hear this when somebody warns you off cutting on the face.

Hardy hole. The square hole in the heel end that holds hardy tools. You'll hear this whenever a tool "drops into the hardy."

Pritchel hole. The small round hole near the hardy hole. Punched work can sit over it so the punch can go all the way through without striking the anvil. You'll hear this when you punch a hole all the way through a bar.

Hammers and hand tools

Cross-peen hammer. A hammer with a flat striking face on one side and a wedge-shaped peen set across the handle on the other. The peen spreads metal in one direction. You'll hear this when someone asks which hammer to buy first.

Straight-peen hammer. Same idea, but the wedge runs in line with the handle. You'll hear this in conversations about drawing out.

Rounding hammer. A hammer whose face is slightly domed, so its blows leave soft, rounded marks instead of sharp edges. You'll hear this when people discuss hammer marks.

Tongs. The hand tools that hold hot steel. They come in many jaw shapes, named for the work they hold: flat, bolt, wolf jaw, V-bit and more. You'll hear this on day one, and the full story is in the blacksmith tongs guide: your first three pairs.

Hardy tool. Any tool with a square shank that sits in the hardy hole, such as a cutter or a bending fork. You'll hear this when someone cuts a bar against a fixed blade.

Punch. A pointed or shaped tool driven into hot steel to make a mark or a hole. You'll hear this in nearly every project that has a hole in it.

Drift. A tapered tool driven through a punched hole to enlarge and shape it, such as the eye of a hammer. You'll hear this when somebody says to "drift the slot."

Fuller. A rounded tool, used on its own or as a top-and-bottom pair, that pushes grooves or shoulders into hot steel. You'll hear this when a groove or a flowing neck is being formed.

Flatter. A tool with a wide, flat face, struck with a sledge to smooth surfaces after rough forging. You'll hear this when somebody wants to clean up hammer marks.

Set hammer. A small square-faced tool used to make crisp corners and shoulders in tight places. You'll hear this when a hammer cannot reach into a corner.

Swage block. A heavy block of cast iron or steel with grooves, holes and slots of varying sizes. You'll hear this when forming round or odd-shaped sections.

Swage. A tool or die with a shaped groove, used to turn square stock round or to match a shape. You'll hear this together with swage block.

Forge and fire

Forge. The hearth, or the fuel-fired furnace, that heats your steel. It may be coal, charcoal or gas. You'll hear this in every conversation about getting started.

Firepot. The recessed cup, usually in a solid-fuel forge, where the fire burns. You'll hear this when someone is building or buying a coal forge.

Tuyere. The air inlet into the firepot, usually at the bottom, through which blower air enters the fire. It is pronounced "tweer." You'll hear this when the fire will not catch or heats unevenly.

Coke. Coal that has had its volatile content cooked out, leaving a hard, clean-burning fuel. It forms in the heart of a coal fire. You'll hear this when a fire is being "built up on coke."

Clinker. A hard, glassy lump of ash and impurities that builds up in the fire and blocks air. You'll hear this when somebody says the fire has "gone dead" and needs cleaning out.

Refractory. Heat-resistant lining material, such as ceramic blanket or castable cement, that holds the forge's heat in. You'll hear this when relining a gas forge. Ceramic fiber needs care; follow the manufacturer's safety data sheet and consult an authority such as NIOSH about handling.

Forge atmosphere. The mix of gases around the steel in the forge. An oxidizing atmosphere has spare oxygen and makes more scale; a reducing atmosphere has spare fuel and little free oxygen. You'll hear this when scale is a problem or when forge welding.

Dragon's breath. Flame that streams out of the forge opening, often a sign of a fuel-rich, reducing atmosphere. You'll hear this when someone says the forge is "breathing."

Techniques

Drawing out. Hammering to make a piece longer and thinner, thereby reducing its cross-section. You'll hear this in the first lesson.

Upsetting. The opposite of drawing out: driving the end of a hot bar to make it shorter and thicker. You'll hear this when making a bolt head or a collar.

Bending. Changing the angle or curve of the steel while it is hot, often over the anvil's horn or in a vise. You'll hear this in nearly every project.

Scrolling. Forming a spiral curve, as in the end of a decorative bar, either by hand at the anvil or with a scroll jig. You'll hear this on railings and hooks.

Twisting. Turning a heated section of a bar around its own axis to make a spiral pattern, often with a wrench. You'll hear this on decorative pieces.

Punching. Driving a punch into hot steel to make a hole. You'll hear this when a hole is needed.

Drifting. Enlarging a punched hole with a drift. You'll hear this right after punching.

Fullering. Forming grooves or shoulders with a fuller. You'll hear this when a piece needs a taper into a handle.

Forge welding. Joining two pieces of steel by heating them until they are ready to bond, then hammering them together. See forge welding basics: two become one for the details. You'll hear this in conversations about Damascus and chain.

Flux. A material, often borax-based, used in forge welding. It dissolves oxide on the surface of the steel and shields the clean metal from the air. You'll hear this when somebody is about to attempt a weld.

Heat and steel

Heat (one heat). One trip into the fire. Smiths speak of finishing a task "in two heats." You'll hear this when someone is working out how long a step takes.

Heat colors. The glow of hot steel, which smiths read as a rough guide to temperature, moving from dull red through orange to yellow and white. The same steel can look different in bright light than in a dim shop, so treat color as an estimate, not a measurement. This page does not print a color-to-temperature chart; for heat-treating a specific steel, go by the maker's data sheet (checked October 2026). You'll hear this when you're told to wait for "bright orange."

Critical temperature. The temperature at which steel's internal structure changes so that it can be hardened by quenching. You'll hear this in every heat-treating discussion.

Normalizing. Heating steel and letting it cool in still air to relieve stress and refine the grain before hardening. You'll hear this about steel you have just forged. The full process is in heat treating steel: normalize, quench, temper.

Annealing. Heating steel and cooling it slowly so it becomes soft enough to cut or file. You'll hear this when a piece is too hard to work.

Quench. Rapidly cooling hot steel in oil, water or another medium to harden it. You'll hear this at the moment of truth for a blade.

Temper. Reheating hardened steel to a lower temperature to trade some hardness for toughness. You'll hear this right after a quench.

Scale. The black, flaky iron oxide that forms on steel in a hot fire. You'll hear this when it flies off with every hammer blow.

Mild steel. Low-carbon steel that forges easily but does not harden meaningfully when quenched. It is the common beginner stock. You'll hear this when a teacher hands you your first bar.

Carbon steel. Steel whose properties come mainly from its carbon content, which makes it hardenable. You'll hear this in knife-making.

High-carbon steel. Carbon steel with enough carbon to harden strongly, used for blades, springs and tools. You'll hear this about files and old springs.

10xx series (1084, 1095). SAE grade numbers for plain-carbon steels. Per Industrial Metal Supply's guide to SAE-AISI steel grades (checked October 2026), "the last two digits specify the approximate carbon content in hundredths of a percent," so 1084 is nominally 0.84 percent carbon and 1095 is nominally 0.95 percent. Look up the maker's data sheet for the real range. You'll hear this in knife-steel shopping.

Wrought iron. A historic, very low-carbon iron with slag stringers running through it, which gives it a fibrous look. The National Park Service's Sleeping Bear Dunes page on a wrought-iron wagon strap (checked October 2026) describes the metal as "a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight)" with "a very low carbon content." You'll hear this when reclaimed old ironwork turns up.

Gear that matches these terms

A hammer you can swing for an hour and a pair of tongs that fit your stock make this vocabulary concrete. The hammer's Amazon listing, checked October 2026, titles it a 40 oz hand sledge and describes a forged steel head and a fiberglass handle, so it is a sledge-style hammer rather than a cross-peen; Check the current price on Amazon if you want to read the listing yourself. For tongs, one Amazon listing titled as a five-piece set names V-bit, flat, blade, square jaw and wolf jaw pairs; Check the current price on Amazon to see what is included.

If you prefer to learn from a book, one Amazon listing is titled "Blacksmithing Made Easy: Comprehensive Forging for Beginners Guide on How to Master the Art of Bladesmithing" by Charles Prince; see the beginner's bladesmithing book on Amazon. If you want a souvenir of the hobby, browse the shop for apparel and stickers with the site's own designs.

FAQ

What does "heat" mean in blacksmithing? A heat is one trip of the steel into the fire and back to the anvil. Smiths plan projects in heats, for example "this taper takes two heats," because steel cools quickly once it leaves the fire.

What is the difference between a punch and a drift? A punch makes the hole. A drift is a tapered tool driven through that hole afterward to enlarge and shape it, so the opening ends up the size and profile you want.

Why do smiths say a steel is "1084" or "1095"? Those are SAE grade numbers for plain-carbon steel. Per Industrial Metal Supply's guide to SAE-AISI steel grades (checked October 2026), the last two digits give the approximate carbon content in hundredths of a percent, so a higher number means more carbon.

Which words should I learn first? Start with face, horn, hardy hole, tongs, drawing out, upsetting, scale, normalizing, quench and temper. Those cover most of what a first-forge session throws at you.