Originally, forged iron was just that – Iron that had been forged with heat and a hammer. For hundreds of years in little towns all over Europe, smiths started with an ingot of iron, and with a combination of heat and hammer cut forged that single block of iron into an intricate gate or panel. Welding had not yet been invented, so all of the pieces were still connected in the center of the panel to the original ingot block. Inevitably, pieces sometimes needed to be attached to one another, so they were banded together using small straps of iron forged around two separate adjoining bars. However, these were weak points in the panels where thieves could pry the bands off, and penetrate the barrier. Today, welding firmly holds all the pieces together and the welds are as strong as the iron itself.

Forged iron is one of the few arts left where there is still a use. Consequently, it is not a lost art… yet. Unique Environments designed and fabricated utilizing old world methods like forging combined with state-of-the-art techniques like water jet cutting as seen in the spiral stair treads pictured below.

Design, forging, welding, grinding and finish create iron details that capture everyone’s attention.

click on the links below to see slideshow examples: