Meticulous, elaborate
In late March 2024, the weather started to get hot. In Da Sy village, Kien Hung ward, Ha Dong district, Hanoi , the temperature seemed to rise even higher with the blazing fires of the blacksmiths' forges and the clanging of knives and hammers…
Artisan Do Thi Tuyen is the only woman in Da Sy craft village to be awarded the title of artisan of the blacksmithing village.
Da Sy village is known as the "foremost knife and scissor maker of Northern Vietnam," with a history spanning hundreds of years. The forged products of this village are diverse in type and design, and are famous for their durability, sharpness, and hardness, surpassing any other product in the region.
Da Sy is not only famous for its blacksmithing products, but also for the story of its skilled women. This craft is inherently arduous, usually reserved for strong men, but in Da Sy, the women are contributing to keeping the craft alive, performing just as well as the men.
The Da Sy craft village association is striving to preserve the traditional blacksmithing craft by coordinating with relevant departments to open annual vocational training classes to pass on and improve the skills of the younger generation; and organizing meetings to educate people on maintaining product quality and protecting the reputation of the craft village.
Artisan Dinh Cong Doan, Vice President of the Da Sy Craft Village Association
As the first woman to be awarded the title of artisan in the blacksmithing village, Ms. Do Thi Tuyen (born in 1964, residing in Group 2) is always seen wearing boots, thick gloves, and a cloth hat covering her body, skillfully using a hammer to forge knives. While working, she explains that to create a knife or scissor that is both exquisite and durable, every step must be meticulous, requiring a highly skilled craftsman. If the knife blank is heated too much, the knife will easily chip and break. The most important stages in the forging process are tempering the steel and cooling it.
First, the craftsman cuts the iron sheets into the desired shape; this process is called cutting the blank. Then, it is placed in a furnace at the appropriate temperature. Depending on the type of steel and the thickness of the product, the heating time will vary. When the heated steel blank turns reddish-white, it's time to place it on the anvil for hammering. Finally, it is polished, wet-ground, or fitted with a handle.
Extremely hard work
"Some women in other workshops only assist the men, but I work from start to finish on a product. I've gotten used to it and don't find it too strenuous. I'm dedicated to this because I love the craft and want to preserve my family's traditional profession," Ms. Tuyen confided.
To transform an iron bar into a knife requires three steps.
At the age of 14, Ms. Tuyen joined the forge, helping her parents forge knives to sell and earn money for her education. When she married at 19, her husband was skilled in blacksmithing, and he taught her how to make additional knives such as cleavers and pork butchers. In 2006, her husband changed professions, so she became the sole owner of the forge.
"Currently, the products I make are usually made to order. The price of a chopping knife typically ranges from around 300,000 VND, while other knives cost around 200,000 VND," Ms. Tuyen said.
While she loves her job, Ms. Tuyen admits that it is extremely hard work, and women involved in this profession suffer many disadvantages, always having to work in a scorching hot environment.
"I always have to wear the oldest clothes, a mask, gloves, and socks that cover me completely. My ears are always stuffed with cotton to block out the deafening noise from the machinery and the hammering all day long. My hands are big and rough from the work. I've never bothered to wear makeup my whole life, and I rarely even let my hair down," Ms. Tuyen shared.
Blacksmiths work hardest during the hot summer days. But even in winter, when the temperature drops to 8 degrees Celsius, they still have to turn on the fan to blow away the coal dust. Getting hit by sparks or scraping and getting burned is unavoidable.
Passionate about keeping the flame of the profession alive.
Having worked as a blacksmith for several decades, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh shared that while blacksmithing is hard work for women, most blacksmiths in Da Sy have women working there.
Despite the hard work, women were involved in every blacksmith's workshop.
Part of the forging process requires two people to work together to ensure quality. While the husband stands at the forge, directly operating the anvil and hammer, the wife is responsible for trimming excess steel and sharpening the knives.
Sharing further, blacksmith Nguyen Van Moc recounted that he doesn't know when the blacksmithing trade in Da Sy originated, only that he saw people in the village practicing it since he was a child: "In the past, most people in Da Sy opened blacksmith shops, and it was very bustling. At that time, some people had to mobilize many people to work for orders, but they couldn't keep up. However, now, many other trades offer higher incomes, so many people, especially the younger generation, no longer pursue it."
According to artisan Dinh Cong Doan, Vice Chairman of the Da Sy Craft Village Association, currently more than 1,000 households in the village participate in production, but only nearly 400 households are engaged in medium to large-scale production. Compared to the golden age in the 1980s and 1990s, in recent years, only about 60% of households have maintained the craft. Especially since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the income of blacksmiths has decreased by 30-40%.
Regarding the current decline of the blacksmithing craft, artisan Dinh Cong Doan believes there are two main reasons. Firstly, the market mechanism, with the influx of foreign goods, has significantly impacted local production. Secondly, finding suitable production space to introduce tools and machinery is proving very difficult, as the issue of securing land for the village's industrial zone for traditional crafts has yet to be resolved.
"Besides the land allocated for the craft village, households hope to receive support in obtaining loans to invest in production and expand their scale beyond the current level," Mr. Doan expressed.
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