Home
A) Sculpture
Sculpture from Bloom Iron
Photo Gallery 1
Photo Gallery 2
Photo Gallery 3
Photo Gallery 4
Photo Gallery 5
B) Smelting
About Bloomery Smelting
Workshops and Demos
Bloom Iron for Sale:
Why You Might Want Bloom Iron
Prices and Ordering
D) Miscellany
About the artist
Links
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About Bloomery Smelting
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| Feeding the Furnace |
Bloomery smelting is the method people used to win iron from its ore, from the beginning of the Iron Age until the advent of the blast furnace in the middle ages. It was a labor-intensive, small-scale process that required a great deal of knowledge and skill. It survived only on the frontiers and in remote eddies of the tide of the industrial era. Bloomery smelting persisted longest in Africa, where it carried special cultural, religious and “magical” significance. It had disappeared even there by the mid-20th century, before anyone had thought to seriously study or record this lost technology.
Along with his smelting partner Skip Williams, Lee has devoted most of the last decade to unraveling the many mysteries of bloomery smelting. Through their writings, workshops, and friendships they have been instrumental in the current revival of interest in bloom smelting as a workable technology.
For more technical info about bloomery smelting, visit the Rockbridge Bloomery website.
If you're interested in purchasing bloom iron, click here.
For information on booking or attending a class, workshop, or demonstration, click here.
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