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The term “hardware store” can refer to a traditional ironsmith or a retailer who stocks hardware. The suffix “merchant” comes from a Latin word meaning “merchant or trader” and is seen in similar constructions. Iron products were historically handcrafted by skilled blacksmiths, but manufacturing shifted to more industrial applications. Hardware stores may stock a range of consumer products and work with many metals, including plastic. Ironmongery experienced a renaissance in the late 20th century, with professionals hand fabricating metal components and working in the film and television industry.
The term “hardware store” is used both in the traditional sense to refer to someone who works with metals, particularly iron, and in a more modern sense to refer to a retailer who stocks hardware. Because most iron products today are industrially manufactured, it is rare to find a traditional ironsmith forging and selling such goods, and the term is more commonly used to refer to a hardware store owner.
The suffix “merchant” comes from a Latin word meaning “merchant or trader” and can be seen in similar word constructions, such as “fishmonger” for someone who sells fish. Many of the words including this suffix sound archaic and their use is declining. Indeed, the suffix has acquired pejorative connotations, as in “fearmonger” for someone who deals and trades with fear.
Humans have been working with iron for thousands of years. This metal has a variety of uses, including weapons, construction hardware, and kitchen utensils. Historically, iron products were handcrafted by skilled blacksmiths who could design pieces for custom use or fabricate generic products for sale. The ironsmith could potentially hold very high social status in a community, because iron goods were so critical.
Over time, metalware manufacturing began to shift to more industrial applications. As a result, the ironworker began to be a rarer figure, with people purchasing iron household goods from the retailers and factories that made them. As a result, people started using the term “ironmonger” to refer to someone who only sold iron products, rather than someone who made and sold them.
Hardware stores may stock things like hardware and cooking supplies, and some also work as repairmen, selling and repairing metal items. These salesmen typically work with many metals, not just iron, and their work today has expanded to include other materials such as plastic. A hardware merchant usually stocks a range of consumer products and has the ability to order the pieces needed for specific uses.
In the late 20th century, a resurgence of interest in traditional metalworking began to emerge, and as a result, ironmongery experienced a renaissance. While there are far fewer active hardware stores than there used to be, these professionals can do things like hand fabricate metal components for new builds or match existing samples of metal for restoration purposes. These professionals also work in the film and television industry, manufacturing props and set components.
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