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Orange County Blacksmith Guild seeks to preserve the old ways

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Ken Kurtz cranks a blower as its gears scream, stoking flames in the blacksmith’s forge, the center of the coals reaching more than 2,000 degrees.

He removes a piece of metal from its resting place in the extreme heat. Kurtz sets it, glowing orange, against an anvil with his tongs and begins to work the now malleable material with his hammer.

A few minutes later, Kurtz dips the metal piece into a vat of water and it emerges a newly-minted nail. Blacksmiths like Kurtz need only heat and some tools to create their work.

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Kurtz, 70, of Anaheim, considers his antiquated craft to be not only a form of art, but an institution worthy of preservation.

Kurtz is the senior member of the Orange County Blacksmith Guild. The group works out of a blacksmith shop at the Heritage Museum of Orange County in Santa Ana.

He, along with members Rudy Soper and Caroline Smith, teaches classes the first four Saturdays of each month at the shop. The mission of the guild is to educate people about a dwindling 4,000-year-old practice so it doesn’t disappear.

“We just want to keep the craft going,” Kurtz said. “I don’t want it to die.”

Blacksmiths were relied upon in the past, not only for the creation of weaponry, but for crafting many of the necessities of daily life. The practice of working with metal paved the way for the further evolution of civilization, with the nails forged by blacksmiths being the basic building block of progress.

To realize their goal of keeping blacksmithing alive, the guild holds an introductory class on the first Saturday of each month, open forge days on the second and fourth Saturdays and a class for more advanced students on the third Saturday. Open forge classes are open to anyone.

The intro class costs $20 and open forge is $15, which covers fuel and power equipment costs.

Kevin Cabrera, executive director of the museum, said the 20-year-old guild and blacksmith shop have become a highlight to many visiting the grounds.

“Anyone who comes is always really excited to see the blacksmiths working just because it’s something you don’t see every day,” Cabrera said. “To be able to see the fire, smell the coal burning and touch these things, you are utilizing all your senses and it’s the whole idea of that hands-on approach that allows people to learn and comprehend a concept more easily.”

While the blacksmith guild works on the museum grounds, they are not employees. They “pay” for the use of the property by being members of the museum and putting on demonstrations, largely for the 18,000 students that visit each year for field trips.

Kurtz said these demonstrations are one of his favorite parts of the guild. With 11 grandkids, he is no stranger to showing children the ins and outs of blacksmithing.

He finds it particularly important to display the craft to kids because it showcases an important part of history.

“Where would they ever go to see something like this?” Kurtz asked. “We need to show them what it used to be like.

“They see me make a nail and it takes five minutes. I ask them, ‘How many nails do you think it would take to build a house?’ Then they start thinking, ‘That’s a lot of work.’ It gives them a sense of how things got built. In their world, the electronic world, this is a whole different thing for them.”

Kurtz began blacksmithing about 17 years ago after enrolling in a class in San Diego. That, coupled with the help of a few books, was all Kurtz needed to teach himself the basics. When he retired a few years later, he was able to fully devote himself to the craft.

Aside from being a member in the guild, Kurtz blacksmiths at his home and sells products out of a portable shop. His work can be found on his website.

Through the years, Kurtz came to realize that he enjoys making fireplace sets, despite their lack of popularity in the warm terrain of Southern California. He also likes making props for his granddaughters’ dance recitals.

Kurtz hopes through the guild’s efforts, others can find similar fulfillment in the art of blacksmithing.

The Orange County Blacksmith Guild hosts classes the first four Saturdays of each month at its shop at the Heritage Museum of Orange County at 3101 W. Harvard St., Santa Ana. Participants must be more than 13 years old. For more information about the specific classes, visit ocblacksmith.com/.

benjamin.brazil@latimes.com

Twitter:@benbrazilpilot

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