José Pérez, Echo's blacksmith, despite being retired, keeps the door of his workshop open to make some of those pieces that in other times took shape with his hands. The memory of his trade is the story of a family saga dedicated to the forging of iron. This anvil, according to my father, must be about 300 years old, because I come from seven generations of blacksmiths, and they used it in Sinués, Esposa, Aísa, Villanúa, the towns around Jaca, then they already bought this other anvil that must have over 200, and here my father, my grandfather and my great-grandfather already hammered. And this one is now over 100 years old, which is what I have always hammered, since the eleven years I started, I have been hammering in it for 60 years. For now, while the forge is getting the temperature necessary to make an ax, José is going to forge a horseshoe. I make this charcoal for myself in the winter at home, the home we burn beech wood and it is the best charcoal there is for this. So the combustion that it does in the fire is very good because it brings out a lot of flame. And then, this other coal is the one that they send us from the mines of Asturias, and it is mineral coal, coal, and when combustion of both gives much more heat, because the mixture makes a lot of flame and heats the iron first. . Heating the forge is not heating it by heating, but it has to reach a cold temperature that is, at 1,500 degrees, which is when the steel and iron melt. With my son Carlos we are going to start the horseshoe, which we have also not made for years, because they are not used. To stop hammering, you have to do that pim, pam, pim, pam. That blow he understands that you have to stop. The forging process is very slow. It is not that of doing things in series or in machinery, no. This is with a hammer blow, very slow and very careful, because how you give a false hammer the thing is twisted. What was done here was that, 50 years ago life was spent in the forge, hammering you, nailing 20 or 30 horseshoes every day to the 400 horses that were here, between horses and males, because it was the work that had . You had to go to the mountains to find firewood, because a house without firewood is worse than a house without bread. And the firewood who made it. The ax, the man and the cavalry to bring her. In winter they spent the one made from the previous winter. It was necessary to do from September that the agricultural work was finished, firewood in the green forest, that it dried, because next year it had to be burned. And from one year to the next they made firewood. And they said it: A house without firewood is worse than a house without bread. Once the horseshoe has been forged, the square holes must be drilled, no drilling with an auger. They have to be square because the nails of the horseshoes, which are made from the factory, from Tolosa, have a square head in the shape of a pyramid, so that when the horseshoe is nailed to the horse or the male, it rises to up the pyramid and hold on well. The horseshoe is already forged, but then, when it is cooled, you have to drill with a square drill because the spikes of the nails are also square, finish drilling and marinate it. It is said to marinate it to leave it so that it sits well in the cavalry helmet. Then, the horseshoe is not necessary to give temper. The horseshoe has to be overcooked, with this heat it will not break, because if the hammer is left warm, it can break with blows and goodbye horseshoe. And you have to leave it soft, overcooked, so that it lasts until it is worn out by the cavalry. To marinate it is to leave it already once pierced with the square pointer, so that these nails enter ... and it will enter once this is pierced, right there, and the pyramid remains up, so that the cavalry hooks on the ground. There were six, seven and eight holes. The fans said that those with seven holes are lucky. Well, here we have made the seven-hole horseshoe. In winter time, when the whole town was frozen with ice, there are some nails with a little more head and they were called nails against ice, so that the cavalry would better grip against the ice, if not, they would skid and cavalry to the ground. And in this way with the fattest nail against ice they held on. Well, I too have not forged an ax for fifty years, because at 20 or 22 we started receiving chainsaws and it's over. So, let's see if we remember to do it. With my two children, who are the ones who will have to hammer hard, we are going to take the steel, we will bend the eye and then we will stretch the shovel. The union will be hot, as was done before, not modern welding. It has to be everything here in the forge. With the horseshoe we have heated the forge, it will already be over 800 degrees and then with the ax it will rise to 1,500 degrees, so that the broth is made. The tools that we are going to use are these. These tools are the pliers we used 50 years ago, because I haven't used them since. Let's see if we remember to use them ... I don't know. This is the one that the ax will take, once the shape has been made with the eye. This one will catch the eye from behind to be able to stretch the shovel, with the fat badges. And this is the first that will work to hold the eye drop with the steel blade of the ax. This is the one that takes the ax all over the shovel to be able to stretch it. Well, now you have to protect yourself, both your feet and your body, because a lot of sparks are going to come out and you have to change your footwear. And nothing, as if one were going to do a doctors operation, these thin black leather gowns, so let's see, let's start with the ax, let's see if it comes out, I don't know. Fifty years without doing it is a long time. This will be the piece of steel that will form the star. And then we are going to hit here what the eye will be. This is the ax that we are going to forge. This ax weighs about five pounds, one pound is 333 grams and three pounds is one kilo. So, out of the five pounds that we have, the one that we are going to forge will weigh 7.5 to 8. So, the blacksmith has to prepare the appropriate material so that it weighs 7.5 to 8, because they are the axes that are They use to knock down the fat pines and firs in Oza. So here we have that the material we have prepared weighs eight and a half pounds. With what is put in the forge when heating, we will be around 7.5 to 8. We are going to throw the steel into the fire, let it heat up, which is the piece that weighs the most, and to make the eye I have prepared these two templates on paper, so, putting this here I know that I need this material and a little more, that the eye has to also come out fatter because a five-pound star corresponds to this and a seven-and-a-half corresponds to more eye. So, I have measured this and here I have the piece of steel material with one more centimeter on each side. With a special saw for steel, José cuts two ends of the piece from which the eye of the ax will come out. We have it ready to fold. To work steel, both for the eye and for the ax shovel, José will need the help of his sons Carlos and José. Let's see Carlos, let's hammer. With blows, José prepares the wedge shape of the ends that will house the blade of the ax. These pieces that we have forged are to prepare the soup. Because if it is not spined in a knife, to anything, sharp, the broth cannot unite. Well, now we will spin the other part, because how later is this to be done in a round eye. To revise the bevel, the blacksmith places the flat so that it receives the strong blows of the mesh. Well, now to heat and close to make the soup. With the red-hot iron, the steel plate can be hammered to form the eye of the ax. Well, this is the handle for the ax, it is made of iron, because if it were made of wood it would burn us. And we call it maneral. We call this a sufridera and this is called a hand, which enters through each other. And the eye of the star that we are going to forge has to coincide in this. We are going to take out the hot ax, the eye, and we are going to try to shape it. The handle will allow the steel to adapt to the shape of the handle with the blows received. This adjustment of the eye is completed with the closure of the temples. Now I am going to bring the eye of what is going to be an ax to the anvil of the other anvil, which is thinner to be able to do it and to prepare it for soup. Well now this has to be heated to join. Today it is called welding, what used to be was calda. It is necessary to join this one, the breastplate of the handle protector with welding from the one from before, from calda. And this Roig plate, is the one that they sent to the blacksmiths to stick these things, there was nothing else. So, we cut a piece. This looks like a small chocolate chip. We are going to put the Roig plate in here, you hold this, José, there, which is the one that will make sure that this sticks. Fifty years without doing it, the roast is passing me by. So, now we put this in the forge so that it becomes hot and when we take it out burning we will hit it here and it will stick. Well, this is the first melt for the metal that I have put on the Roig plate to melt, and now comes the strong melt. Well, we already have the first soup. This has remained in one piece. So, now we are going to prepare with the handle inside, the hammer, the piece of steel to make the ax, we are going to prepare the other two, which will be the strong soup. Now the eye is half forged to put here what the ax will be. But you have to heat it up again to mold it a little more. While José gives the final shape to the eye of the ax, in the forge the piece of steel that will form the shovel is being heated . That piece is because it weighs less than what the ax is going to be, because if not, three kilos of steel cannot be handled here for good. And it serves as a record. Now I am going to prepare what is going to be the blade of the ax, and for that you have to take it and give it a little shape for the wooden handle that you are going to carry because otherwise it would stay straight. This is the hardest part. The most difficult because it has to be glued quickly. Before joining the two pieces of the ax, José models them by blows, so that the blade fits perfectly in the eye lapels. Well, now, this Roig plate, which is the one we used to weld the sleeve, you have to cut two pieces, because the eye of the ax has two welds that have to be done at the same time. We cut a piece for each site. Come on, if it takes me fifty years to employ you. Now we put the welding plate, the Roig, and we hope it sticks. The wood must occupy the place that the iron handle occupies, because when it hits the nose I will place it in its place. So now we go to the pot and hope that it sin. To the forge. I'm going to get the first batch, which is when the Roig plate melts and then the second is the strong one. Now we are going to the strong soup, which is when it is going to stick. As there is no thermometer that measures the temperature, I always saw the sand left from the stone for sharpening axes and knives with Dad . So with this he acts as a thermometer. When the broth is ready, I will add these powders to it and if they run over the steel it is about to hammer it. It is the right broth. This is the calda thermometer. At 1,200 degrees. Now this. Now one, but soon both already. So that the force of the blow of the mesh is distributed evenly by the union of the pieces, the blacksmith uses a special hammer called flat. Well, now we have the forge made from the calda. The first thing we are going to do is fix the eye where the wooden handle will go, but with the iron handles. It burns everything. Nothing can be touched here. Go ahead. The first handle is the small one, now we are going to move on to the second one that is bigger. Well, the broth is well made. It has endured. By putting the handles into it, you are in danger that if it is not properly cooked, it may burst. But it is well done and the handle has gone well. Now we are going to put the second handle, which will keep the eye as it really has to be for the wooden handle to enter. Well, now we have the neck and eye forged. This short-necked star is the normal one to make firewood for the house or to cut branches from trees, from pines. When you have to knock down a pine, you have to put it in the trunk because if it is a trunk like this one from the anvil you have to put it to the heart. But in the pines and firs of Oza, it was necessary to put estrales that were 38 or 40 cm long, and this is what we are doing. Once the eye has been forged and the neck has been forged, we are going to stretch it 10 cm, because for that the piece of steel has enough material to come out. So we are going to throw it into the forge and hammer it. This pliers is the right one for this job that we are going to do now. Let it warm up ... So now we are going to proceed to stretch the shovel, which is called what the ax is going to be . For that we will use a flat, damn how it burns, that is burning, a small flat so that it stretches. And in the end, the big flat that is the one that will leave the ax completely smooth. And my two sons, José and Carlos, are going to be in charge of making it stretch a hand. When we put a miqueta on edge, one to hold and another to hit with the song, with that one, and hold on with the other. Now this is the moment when the two hammers of Jose and Carlos are going to make the steel stretch 10 cm. The blows that the assistants give have to be well synchronized, while the blacksmith checks the evolution of the shape of the ax and places it in the correct position. In the forging of a star you cannot make the entire shovel at one stroke because, the forge, approximately, of 10 to 12 cm, makes the fire strong, that is why the drop of the eye has come out what is the drop, and now Stretching the shovel must be done in two or three times, depending on the length of the piece, in this case the star, because it cannot be done all at once, nor would the hammers, José and Carlos, nor me, nor the fire, so you have to go little by little. Now we have forged and flattened what is half the star, because the forge does not fit more than half. Once this operation is done, we are going to stretch everything that is the blade of the cut and we will return here to re-level it. Now it will come out all red hot and we will hit it with the large trowel to finish it. And then he will come sharpened. Give me the hammer. When the width of the ax to be stretched allows, José uses the large trowel to make the surface more even. You have to leave it straight because here there is ... ... no mold that tells you it is straight or not. Here with the naked eye, touching the eye. We are going to take the cut and finish it. The blacksmith finishes drawing the steel with the hammer, shaping the cut of the ax. Now we are going to put a handle that goes more or less well to the eye that has come out, to know if it is well decked, if not, we will have to heat it, if it deviates a little, from here the eye. It goes quite well, but nevertheless, we are going to hit a heater to tilt it, which goes a little to the right. We had it a bit out of the straight and so now we have straightened it so that it looks good, because if the cut looks in another direction the handle commands, because the operator does not hit it as it should be. Well now it goes straight. And now we are going to put the name of the blacksmith. Taking advantage of the fact that it is hot, the signature of the blacksmith who has forged the ax is this, and it comes from my father, my grandfather and in seven generations, always with the same brand. It is done. This little mark that remains there, there it remains. Well, we have reached the end of the forging of the star, which already weighs seven and a half pounds, and after the forging comes the sharpening, both with emery and with a file, so that the best-arranged piece can be seen, because the forge remains raw. The water is so that it does not heat up, because the emery that makes sparks softens the steels, but a stone of water called this is so that it does not soften. Well, I'm going to throw it into the forge and we're going to temper it. Well now let's get the ax going hot for tempering. You have to remove the slag that the forge removes. We are going to temper it in oil so that it is smooth. It's already warm. If this is tempered with water, the temper of the steel can become very strong and when you go to use it, skip a piece and it has already been annoyed. This without paint or anything, it remains blued, like the barrels of the shotguns, blued with oil, well the same. That afterwards you have to paint in colorau, as if it were black, but the blacksmith does not use paint. It's over. We already have it forged. After fifty years, I have rejuvenated myself fifty years. Olé. Ha ha ... With the final review of the edge in the water stone, the ax or estral as they call it in Echo, it has been finished. Well, we already have the estral just forged, estral in cheso, in Castilian ax. As was done fifty years ago. So now there is no more than sharpening it and finishing it, putting the wooden handle in it. And to cut down pines. This has been good, right and all. Well, with a tool of these, about three kilos, eight or ten hours in the forest, itching, hey, you have to be a man but with two noses. But here it is. I am going to tell a story that has passed by word of mouth. What did those who made the ships for Philip II? They needed sails. Those sails had to be pine trees like this trunk or thinner if possible, at the root below, but 20 meters high. And those 20 meters were obtained by a pine or a fir raised in good soil and with a whole row, because 20 meters are not achieved in any way. He went to the Hecho valley and in our forest of Oza, in Oza, there were some virgin pine and fir trees that were nowhere to be found. Well, the people of Hecho promised to chop them down, cut down the pines and lower them to Tortosa. And they planted the chesos more than a thousand sails of 20 meters long each and more for the invincible army of Felipe II. It is a fact that has passed by word of mouth, I am one of the few, I know it because the old men told me about it. We are going to forge a pine turner and in Navarra, squid. I have already cut the tube, a normal one-inch tube, the steel bar as well, I am going to remove the alluded from the tip like the zapino hooks to take the wood and we will return it. I'm going to throw it into the forge. This, I know hot, because as it is steel, you have to remove the tip and temper it, because then when it begins to bend it will not be possible. Well, now I am going to take out the prepared steel, I mark it at the tip like a zapino hook and we will begin to bend it. Now you have to sharpen it. Well, now is when we remove the tip in the forge. This is going to take an allucent like the zapinos, so that the wood enters and then it is released. The hallucinated of this stork's beak, let's say. It is two cuts that are wedged and when they are nailed into the wood, as soon as you loosen it, it releases. If you get hooked, bad, because you can take the worker to the fret. And now we are going to warm up to forge the curve. I have finished bending, I am going to temper the tip, I will also temper it in oil and okay. We have finished the forge. Now we will assemble the handle with the squid and we will go to test it in a pine tree to see how it works. Well now we catch it in the bank, because this is going very strong. Yes, with use this softens. Well, let's try it at the sawmill where we have a lot of wood. We have forged this piece that is very rare, but it is very useful for those who cut down the pines in Oza with the ax, they turned them over to be able to peel them, because if possible, the wood had to come down bare. So this was called the volvedor and the people from Navarra, back in Navarra, call it squid. I nail it there and then the first movement I can get it out it comes off. It is already nailed, we began to make force with my friend Mariano and we began to turn the trunk. More, more, And now we are going to turn it upside down so that it looks like the way to work. We grab it upside down for the other side. Back again to hook. He. He. We hook up again. He. It is a very useful piece, because it cannot be turned by hand in one arm. On the other hand, with him squid great. Voucher?. After fifty years, José Pérez, the blacksmith from Echo, wanted to remember one of the many jobs he did for choppers and wood draggers in the mountains of Oza, before mechanization left the artisan work of the blacksmith cornered.
