Mendocino Candlestick

Doug Carmichael, hand-forged steel Mendocino Candlestick, 5.5 inches diameter by 1.5 inches high, holds a standard taper. There are many things that are very satisfying about hammering hot metal. Forged steel is a very strong material. The fire tools, joist brackets, candlesticks, chandeliers and sconces that I’ve made over the last 37 years will very likely still be working hundreds of years from now. The artisan blacksmith trade has a long history and tradition. Many of the tools, techniques, and motifs I use originated hundreds of years ago; some were invented by my own teachers one generation before me. A few tools and processes I have invented myself. Most entrancing is the process itself. Plain lifeless metal bars begin to glow a dark red in the forge. As the steel is heated further it changes to lighter shades of red, then orange, then yellow. At this yellow heat it is very ductile and behaves like stiff clay and can be shaped with hammer blows, curved, twisted, and chiseled muc