Coppersmiths create and repair copper items, which were historically used for practical purposes, but now have become more of an artistic pursuit. Copper is a soft metal that can be easily shaped into decorative objects or practical items. In the Middle Ages, metalworking businesses were divided, and copper specialists work with cold metal using hammers and presses. Modern coppersmiths focus on creating high-end artistic products such as kitchen accessories and decorative copper pots and kettles. Copper is also used for small sculptures, while bronze is preferred for larger works.
Coppersmith manufactures and repairs copper and similar metal items. Originally an eminently practical trade, the copper industry is more of an artistic pursuit in the modern world, as most household items are made from materials other than copper, and many copper objects are manufactured using industrial processes. A niche market for copper products remains, however, and copper manufacturers still produce a small number of highly technical devices, as well as some high-quality copper art pieces.
Copper, as a soft metal, was one of the first metals to be worked by humans. It is useful in creating decorative objects, as well as certain practical items such as cooking pots or a grill. A coppersmith in the ancient world might also have combined copper with tin or, more rarely, arsenic to create bronze, a much harder metal. Bronze was useful both for decorative items and for durable tools and weapons.
In the Middle Ages, the various metalworking businesses were carefully divided from one another, a division that has persisted, to some extent, into the modern day. Back then, a blacksmith was often a member of a guild and referred to as a blacksmith, a reference to the color of the metal he worked with. Similarly, blacksmiths worked with iron and blacksmiths with metals such as tin.
When working with copper, a copper specialist usually works with cold metal, using hammers and presses to shape the metal into the desired shape. Copper is sometimes heated and then cooled, but this process, known as annealing, is used to ensure that the metal retains its flexibility and workability as a cold metal rather than as part of the working process itself. Occasionally, copper is hot worked or smelted, but unlike iron, it can be easily cold worked under normal circumstances.
A modern coppersmith’s trade tends to focus more on artistic than practical products. High-end kitchen or fireplace accessories are often created specifically for the rooms in which they will be used. Likewise, there is a large market for stylish and decorative copper pots and kettles, although they are rarely used in modern cooking. The boilermaking trade also merges into more purely artistic sculptural work. Copper is a preferred metal for small sculptures, although bronze is generally used in larger works because of its greater strength and superior durability.
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