Images(2)

Top Swage

Date1750-1850

OriginAmerica

MediumIron, steel, and wood

DimensionsOverall: 17 1/2" Head: 5 3/16" x 1 3/8" x 1 5/16"

Credit LineGift of Diane E. Schwarz

Object number2020-20,12

DescriptionTop swage shaped like a hammer head of the period, but with a deeply concave working surface on one side. Its corners are chamfered and a period-of-use wooden haft is fitted into its ovoid eye.
Label TextShaped like a hammer, this top swage is actually a two-person forming tool. It was placed on top of the hot metal held on the anvil by the bottom swage and struck by another blacksmith. This process imparted a smooth, rounded surface to ironwork.
ProvenanceFrom the Diane and Kenneth Schwarz collection of early American blacksmithing tools.