A metalsmith or simply smith is a craftsperson fashioning useful items out of various metals. Smithing is one of the oldest metalworking occupations. Shaping metal with a hammer (forging) is the archetypical component of smithing. Often the hammering is done while the metal is hot, having been heated in a forge. Smithing can also involve the other aspects of metalworking, such as refining metals from their ores, casting it into shapes (founding), and filing to shape and size.
A bladesmith from Damascus, c. 1900
Coppersmith Abdón Punzo in his workshop in Santa Clara del Cobre, Mexico
"Aeolus's Weathervane" – detail of a weather vane created by using a variety of metalsmithing techniques
A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale production of goods, or their maintenance, for example by tinkers. The traditional term craftsman is nowadays often replaced by artisan and by craftsperson.
Shoes are repaired by a skilled shoemaker; here he evaluates a pair of shoes with a customer watching.
Japanese potter at his wheel (1914)
Bagh print traditional hand block print craft in India
Street handicraft: here a skilled metalsmith in Agra, India sits between scooters in a commercial area making careful observations in the practice of his trade
