'Artisan' of repairing pots and pans in the heart of Vinh City.

"Artisans" on the sidewalk

Mr. Chu Sy Hung has a "dream" workspace: on the sidewalk, under the trees, right next to a park. After 20 years working on this breezy sidewalk, he has built a loyal customer base not only in Vinh City but also in neighboring districts and even in Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh provinces.

Mr. Hung's "workshop" is located on the sidewalk next to Goong Lake. Besides repairing pots and pans, he is also an experienced locksmith. Photo: Diep Thanh

I first met Mr. Hung when he was repairing an old frying pan. He was sitting on the park's median strip, next to a rather large toolbox filled with countless tools, from iron hammers, wooden hammers, chisels, punches, anvils (round and flat), wooden anvils, pliers, scissors… to aluminum sheets used for patching and unfinished pots. The aluminum frying pan, made of thick aluminum alloy during the "subsidy era," had a hole in the bottom. Mr. Hung's task was to repair it as aesthetically pleasing and sturdy as possible.

Based on the hole, Mr. Hung will choose the appropriate method of shaping and welding. To repair a hole about 2cm in diameter in the pan he was holding, he first carved the hole into a perfect circle, then hammered the edges of the hole indented with a hammer and a chisel. This process was repeated not just once, but many times, until the hole became a perfect circle about 5cm wide, and its edges were thin enough to flare outwards.

Repairing a pot isn't too difficult, but it requires meticulousness and skill, involving many steps. Photo: Diep Thanh

At this point, Mr. Hung used a compass to measure the size of the hole and drew a larger shape on a flat piece of aluminum. This circle was cut out, flattened at the edges, and folded vertically at the corners. The next step required a great deal of skill and professional expertise. Mr. Hung smoothed the edges and fitted the aluminum sheet to perfectly fit the hole in the pan, applying a special glue he made himself to the contact surface of the two folded edges. Then, using a chisel and hammer, he joined the two folded edges together perfectly. In just 30 minutes, the basic patch was complete, and the "damaged" pan regained its function. Finally, after the patch fit perfectly, Mr. Hung used a piece of hard wood to hammer the lines and shape of the pan to make it complete and look its best. This was just one part of his many other operations.

The pots and pans brought to Mr. Hung for repair are often several decades old. Photo: Diep Thanh

Watching him work, despite being annoyed by the jarring, metallic clanging sound, I was truly captivated by his skill and dexterity. After a while of chiseling and hammering, his hair was soaked and his shirt was drenched in sweat. Having finished this pan, he had to tackle a tall stack of pots, pans, and basins next to it. A long-time chef client called to inquire about the progress and was delighted to learn about the completion of the set.tool"His old cookware can return to the task on schedule. For this chef, no expensive, fancy set of pots and pans is more 'worth the money' than his own old, worn-out ones."

Patching up memories

Mr. Hung recounted that he graduated from the Mechanical Engineering department of Hanoi University of Technology and served in the military for many years. After retiring, leveraging his technical skills, he chose this job to both earn extra money to support himself and have time to care for his family. Perhaps because he was so closely associated with the military uniform for so long, his everyday attire is also the same color, albeit more worn and faded. And perhaps it is also thanks to his years in the army that he has such a deep understanding and appreciation for cooking pots.since the war.

Mr. Hung fitted a patch over the hole in the pan. Photo: Diep Thanh.

“People still call them cast iron pots, but in reality, their main material is aluminum alloy. Some of them are handcrafted from a single piece, and therefore they have very unique and special identifying marks. Some pots are engraved with the owner's name, some with individual names, some with wedding dates engraved to be given as gifts… They all have their own interesting and precious stories,” Mr. Hung revealed.

Throughout his career, Mr. Hung has had the good fortune to "rediscover" many relics bearing the imprint of a bygone era, and to listen to very personal memories and stories. He is happy about this, finding his work meaningful and interesting. Although he knows that this joy will diminish over time, along with the rapid development of industry.production of goodsLooking at the bustling traffic ahead, he mused, "People rarely bring new pots and pans in for repair. At most, they might get the bottoms of aluminum basins re-sealed, but even that's not common. Maybe in five years, nobody will bother repairing these old pots and pans anymore. Then this profession will disappear."disappear"It's only natural."

The simple work, the simple joys of a street vendor repairing pots and pans. Photo: Diep Thanh.

His sentiments are shared by many who appreciate nostalgia. Knowing that I cannot change the times, I still hope that he will be able to do this work for a long time. And to me, he will always be an "artisan," even if no one else recognizes it.