Red fire of Ba Ba blacksmith village

(Baonghean) - Ba Ba village (Thanh Luong commune, Thanh Chuong district) has long been famous for its blacksmithing, specializing in the production of agricultural tools such as knives, sickles, hoes, plows, harrows... to serve agricultural production. Maintaining the traditional profession of their ancestors, the people here always raise awareness of preserving, restoring and developing the blacksmithing profession in the direction of goods, opening up a sustainable direction in the context of economic integration like today...

The blacksmithing profession in Ba Ba village has existed for a long time. The people here said that their ancestors and grandparents had practiced the profession and passed it on to their descendants from generation to generation. And until today, the elderly people in the village are still proud, moved, and still passionate about the profession and love it every time they remember it. We visited the family of Mr. Vo Quoc Trinh, who is 94 years old this year and has been involved in the blacksmithing profession since he was young. Now that he is old and in poor health, he no longer practices the profession, but his children continue the family blacksmithing profession. When asked about the blacksmithing village, he said that in the past, there were only a few blacksmithing furnaces in the village and it was not until much later, not sure which year, but since Mr. Vo Trong Cuc from Duc Tho district, Ha Tinh came here to get married and start a business, he began to pass on the profession.

Since then, the blacksmithing profession here has really developed, gradually forming the traditional profession of the village over time. He had three sons, all of whom succeeded their father in the profession and were very good at it. At that time, in addition to making essential items for the people, Ba Ba village also produced and forged primitive weapons such as knives, swords, flintlock guns... for the militia and self-defense forces to practice during the revolutionary struggle against the invading French colonialists. In the story, Mr. Trinh recalled: “Since the blacksmithing profession was introduced to the village, every house had a charcoal stove burning from early morning until late at night. Everyone was busy with their work, the sound of hammers and anvils resounded loudly, making it very bustling. Thinking back now, I still feel happy.”

Mr. Vo Van Toan uses a hammer in his profession.

The people of Ba Ba blacksmith village started with simple products such as crowbars, sledgehammers, sharpeners, knives, sickles... to serve agricultural production activities. Everything is forged by hand with their own skillful hands and experience. The job seems simple, but being a blacksmith requires good health, endurance, perseverance and patience to be able to stick with the profession. The raw materials are discarded and damaged iron and steel bars bought from everywhere, mainly war scraps buried underground that people found and resold. After that, all the rust on the outside must be removed before forging.

To make a complete product, it must go through many stages. First, the blacksmith must cut the iron, put the steel inside, and then heat it to fuse the iron and steel. This stage is also extremely important, the fire must be even because if the fire is too big, it will break, on the contrary, if the fire is not enough, the iron and steel will not stick together. When heating, a thin layer of mud must be applied on the outside, the purpose is that when the iron and steel are melted, they will be framed. The next stage after heating the furnace is to put it on the anvil to form the desired product, it must be hit quickly and strongly.

There are two people working together, the one inside commands, the other outside follows, if you want the product to be long, you have to hit the butt of the hammer, if you want it to be big, you have to hit horizontally. Third, is the cooling step, using a sharp knife to shave off the outer iron layer to expose the steel on the inside, then using a file to make the edges even and straight. After that, put the "tempered" product into cold water. Finally, make the handle, insert the handle, if it is a knife or sickle, it is mainly made of xoan wood, because xoan wood is light, tough, does not split, convenient for use.

The forge is quite simple, a mound of earth covered with mud on both sides, and in the middle there is a small slot for coal to be put in to heat the furnace. The “anvil” is usually made from large, flat iron blocks that are firmly attached to a sturdy wooden trunk to maintain balance. “A sharp knife is not as good as a strong anvil”. In the past, wood was often used to heat the furnace, but later due to its increasing scarcity, people switched to using coal. They had to go all the way to Ben Thuy to buy it, each car trip could carry 3-4 tons, costing about 15 million VND. At that time, the quantity of products made was small, so the villagers mainly carried their goods to sell at local markets such as Dung market, Con market, Nam Nghia market... the income was not worth much, each trip to the market was only enough to buy a few kilos of rice to get by.

Although life is still full of hardships and difficulties, the blacksmithing profession is still attached to the people of Ba Ba village all year round, from generation to generation, whenever there is no farming or free time, every family works hard to make the profession. Thanks to that, the village's friendship and community solidarity are increasingly strong and united, the village is always filled with laughter and the bitter sound of the profession, feeling confident in life. The more society develops, the consumer market is increasingly expanded, so the blacksmiths here constantly improve their techniques, designs, and product quality to meet the needs and tastes of customers. Diverse in types, sizes, and designs as well as ensuring sharpness, durability, and flexibility, all products produced are consumed, and the material and spiritual life of the people is increasingly improved.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong is passionate about her job.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong, a professional blacksmith in the village, confided: In the past, both husband and wife worked in the blacksmithing profession. In recent years, her husband, Mr. Vo Son Ha, has been busy with his business, so she works alone in the blacksmithing profession. Her three children, who are in high school, help her with the sewing and fitting of the handles. Ms. Phuong was born in the village, in a family where her parents were traditional blacksmiths, so she learned how to do the job since she was in high school. Because there were no hammers, her products were mainly knives, sickles and hoes. As they were made, they were brought to kiosks selling agricultural tools in Dung Town to be imported for retail sale. Ms. Phuong said that with the support of her children, she could make 30 sickles a day, selling them wholesale for 20,000 VND/piece. After deducting the cost of iron, steel, coal... about 50%, she still had a profit of 300,000 VND. Although it is hard work because of having to hammer, straighten steel, cut spokes... but because I am used to the job, I feel it is normal, considering this a side job but the main income of the family.

Vo Quoc Toan (born in 1969), the third son of Vo Quoc Trinh, has been following his father's blacksmithing career for nearly 25 years. He has been involved in the profession since he was a child, knowing how to hammer, chisel, and grind, and now that he and his wife have moved out, they have a more modernized forge to do the job. The family has 5 members, all three children are of school age, while the economy is not enough to rely on a few acres of contracted rice fields, so for him and his wife, sticking with the blacksmithing profession is a way to make a living and increase the family's income. "Blacksmithing is also hard and difficult, because you have to sit in one place, so backaches and neck pain are normal. Listening to the sound of hammers hitting the anvil all day long sometimes gives me a headache, but then I get used to it," Toan confided. Like many other households in the village, he does all the heavy work like cutting iron and hammering, while his wife only helps with light, simple tasks like oiling, greasing the handle, and sharpening the water.

On average, he and his wife make 4-5 products a day, after deducting expenses, the effort is also 300,000 VND. It is known that after recognizing the craft village in 2010, the commune organized for blacksmiths in Ba Ba village to visit Ha Tinh, he returned to invest in buying more machines such as hammers, grinders, furnace blowers, so the work is less difficult than before, the quantity and quality are significantly improved. The products are also diverse such as plows, harrows, knives, scissors, sickles, hoes... imported to agents in Thanh Chuong, Nam Dan, Do Luong and Vinh City. Since having hammers, the blacksmithing job of Mr. Toan and his wife is less difficult, because they do not have to carry hammers like before.

Most of the people in Ba Ba village are mainly farmers, and the blacksmithing profession helps them create jobs for local workers during the off-season, while also significantly increasing their family income. Currently, the whole village has nearly 100 households, of which 42 households are blacksmiths with about 90 people participating. Likewise, many households have risen out of poverty, built decent houses, and have money to send their children to school. Mr. Le Trong Chuong, Vice Chairman of Thanh Luong Commune People's Committee, excitedly said: Ba Ba blacksmith village has existed for a long time, and the people here are always conscious of preserving and developing the traditional profession left by their ancestors.

Even more proud when in 2010 the Provincial People's Committee decided to recognize the craft village, the local government also paid attention to creating favorable conditions to help people access preferential loans to restore and expand production towards commodities. Households doing the craft have also boldly invested in purchasing many modern equipment and machines to free up labor, increase productivity and work efficiency. To develop the craft in a sustainable direction, the desire of the people of Ba Ba blacksmith village is to have more forms of promotion and product introduction to expand the market, gradually build the reputation and brand of the craft village, contributing to building the homeland more and more prosperous, civilized...

Xuan Hoang - Van Dang