Blacksmith’s Workshop
41 FORGE
41 FORGE（Shinichi Forge）creates art works by striking heated iron,
bringing out the best of the strength and the texture of iron.
Located at the foot of the Kaji Hills in Iruma,
Saitama prefecture, Japan,
the workshop is surrounded by tea farms.
What is Wrought Iron?
“Wrought iron” is when unique pieces are made by an artist from a solid iron bar or plate.
The color of iron is black but gradually turns red, orange, yellow, and finally white before it melts at a high temperature.
Observing the color of the iron, an artist repeats the process of hammer-marking until satisfied with the effect.
It is essential for a wrought iron artist to have good control of the fire.
The product created is one-of-a-kind.
41 FORGE craftsmanship
Unique and Original Handcraft of 41 FORGE
If you overlap hammer marks on iron heated in a fire, you make impressions, called striking marks. Taking advantage of this quality particular to iron, we produce pieces one-by-one by hand. Every work thus produced is unique. No two are the same.
Bringing out the best of “wrought iron character”.
In the process of forging, heated iron is beaten, stretched, and bent into shapes.
41 FORGE pays particular attention to the assemblage of these parts.
We consider our customers our “co-workers”
It is only after a detailed discussion with the customer that we propose a design that will best suit their purposes.
“Tool making” for special products
In European workshops, you see new tools as well as the old ones that have been passed on for generations.
Hoping that the culture of wrought iron will take root in Japan, 41 FORGE makes its own tools.
A product loved and cherished
Our life is filled with products that are quickly made by machines.
41 FORGE produces hand-crafted iron works, that will be loved, cherished, and used for a long time.
gallery
Profile
Shinichi Mizukami
- 1972
- Born in Tokyo, Japan
- 1994
- Graduated from the Department of Industrial Design, College of Art, Nihon University.
During his university days, studied under Mitsuo Nishida, a wrought iron artist. - 1994-2020
- Worked at Nishida’s wrought iron studio, “PAGE ONE”.
- 1996
- Participated in the International Conference on Iron Forging in Aachen, Germany
- 1998
- Participated in the International Conference on Iron Forging in Mynamaki, Finland
- 2000
- Participated in the International Iron Forging Conference in Flagstaff, U.S.A.
- 2002
- Participated and demonstrated in the International Iron Forging Conference in Seoul, Korea
- 2011
- Exhibited at Yatsugatake Club, Mori Exhibition in Yamanashi prefecture
- 2014
- Participated and demonstrated in the International Conference on Iron Forging in Liviu, Ukraine.(Had exchanges with blacksmith workshops in Italy, France, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, etc.)
- 2021
- Opened “41 FORGE”, blacksmith workshop.
