Different "Colors" of Metal Smiths

[52 Ford]

So, I've hear the term "blacksmith" used to describe pretty much anyone who forges metal. But, not all smiths are blacksmiths.

Someone asked a question about what a whitesmith is on a website and they got what I think is a pretty interesting answer. Not sure how true it is, but it makes sense to me.

To quote (Ben Goszczynski on Quora.com): "The “color” of a smith is determined by the color of firescale on their metal. Firescale is what appears when metal is heated and cooled, and is a hard surface layer. Kinda like bark, but a hell of a lot harder.
So for instance, iron and steel have black firescale, thus the term blacksmith.
Redsmiths usually work with copper or alloys of copper. It also sometimes applies to gold and silver should the alloy have some copper, but usually gold or silversmith is the proper term.
In this case, whitesmith applies to tinsmiths, as well as occasionally referring to workers of lead and pewter."

Sent from my Champion Forge using Tapatalk

 

[opaul]

Interesting topic. I’ve never given much thought outside of blacksmiths. I have heard the term tin smith and gold smith so it goes to reason there is also a copper smith? Heretofore I assumed blacksmith terminology came about from using coal and getting everything black.

 

[opaul]

Found this:
Where Did The Term ‘Blacksmith’ Come From?

The process by which blacksmithing got its name is actually a fairly simple one. Iron is one of the common materials that blacksmiths forge, and when it is heated it turns black – providing the first part of the name. There are various sources that describe the origination of the second part of the name, but generally it’s believed to come from the word ‘smite’, which means ‘to hit’. Thus, the term blacksmith was born.