Most people are familiar with the term “blacksmith” and think that it refers to someone who works with metal, but this isn’t entirely correct. The term “blacksmith” only refers to someone who works with the “black” metals such as iron and steel.

Redsmiths* work with copper, whitesmiths work with light-coloured metals such as pewter or tin and brightsmiths work with silver. Many smiths are known by the type of object they produce, for example a gunsmith makes guns and and a bladesmith makes knives and swords; others are known by the metal they work with: goldsmiths and zincsmiths work with gold and zinc respectively.

* Redsmiths are also known as brownsmiths.