Moss Blacksmith Shop Keeps Blacksmithing 'Art' Alive

Back during the Colonial days and the early years of our nation's existence, the craft of blacksmithing played an extremely important role in our society. Though it wained as modern technology took on a more prominent role, Kenneth Moss, along with his sons Tim and Ken, have managed to keep the practice alive at the Moss Blacksmith Shop on Canton Street in Roswell.     

Moss, a World War II veteran, was a general blacksmith, who shoed horses, made tools, built wagons and repaired metal items. Now 85 years old, Ken Sr. still owns and operates the Roswell shop, truly believing there is nothing that he cannot produce.

"The only thing that we cannot do is put tooth paste back into the tube," Moss jokingly commented. "I've been in it 78 years. We've shod horses and mules, built plows for the farmers, made custom iron work of all kinds. Anything that [the client] brings in a picture of, we can make," he said.

In 1968, Moss moved his shop from Buckhead's Earley Street to Roswell's Canton Street. But it's origins go back even further.

Before the shop was in Buckhead, his grandfather, George Chatham, opened the shop in the Crabapple area.    

"Grandpa moved the shop to Buckhead on Moores Mill Road and Paces Ferry Road, then he moved it behind the Buckhead Theater," Ken Sr. said. 

Chatham, came from a line of blacksmiths who came to America from Lancashire, England during the 17th Century. Ken Sr., is a sixth generation blacksmith and his sons are continuing the trade into the seventh generation.    

According to Ken Sr., a lifetime of blacksmithing has seen him through everything from branding irons for Oklahoma cattle ranchers, to featured segments on news programs hosted by Peter Jennings and Charles Kuralt.

"I still get calls from all over the United States from people I worked for. They're surprised to find out I'm still kicking," he said. 

Today, the main workshop sits behind a white frame house at the front of the Canton Street property. Inside the shop are many items that Moss and his sons have worked on over the years: anvils, hammers, a wagon tire bender, horse shoes and various other items. There's even a 1926 Model T automobile with 18,000 miles on it that Moss has had for a long time. 

"I've got tools in that shop that go back 150 years," Ken Sr. said. 

"Since we're a historical blacksmith shop, we're able to make things the same way people made them 100 to 200 years ago", said son Tim Moss. "Thus, we have been able to meet the needs of our clients whether they are looking for traditional items or contemporary pieces."    

Among the items that the Mosses have designed and built include, iron gates for both gardens and driveways, hand railings, patio furniture, ornate door hinges, ornamental hinges for churches and fireplace stands, just to name a few. Each of the items are made from beautifully intricate designs and with the highest quality of craftsmanship. The Mosses range of talents also includes iron work restoration.

"We are able to reproduce old items by matching the new items with the original," said Tim. "Since 1970, our specialty has been ornamental iron work: railings, gates, pot racks, fire place tools, anything out of metal." 

One of the items Tim designed and crafted was the entrance gate at the Galloway School in Buckhead. 

"The two silhouettes for the Galloway School gate were the school’s original logo. They gave me a little picture about an inch long of this original logo, so I worked to maintain the original logo, but within my own design," he said.         

Moss pointed out the differences between a machine made scroll and one made by hand. He noted the different types of hammers and hammering styles used to incorporate a piece of metal into a blacksmithing work. The English used a Ball Pein hammer, which is the style and type Tim learned from his father. However, he also mentioned about a new type of blacksmithing called Ergonomic Blacksmithing that he learned from a renowned Israeli blacksmith named Uri Hofi. A demonstration video of the different types of hammering styles can be seen in the videos and photos section of this article. 

According to Tim, blacksmiths have historically been innovative types; they constantly adapt to change and are always looking for new and more efficient ways to solve problems.

"The John Deer Tractor Company evolved out of a blacksmith shop. They came up with a new design of a better plow and that resulted in the huge success that the company is today," Tim said.       

Tim believes there is a renewed interest in the art of blacksmithing and more organizations trying to keep its long time tradition alive. 

"There's a trade association of ornamental fabricators. It's called NOMMA: The National Ornamental and Miscellaneous Metals Association. It's actually headquartered out of Fayetteville, GA," Tim said. "NOMMA has a lot of welders who fabricate metal projects by welding and doing the functional things, but the association also has in its membership, blacksmiths who focus on the artistic work."  

Another association trying to keep the practice alive is the Artist Blacksmith Association of North America (ABANA). There was a renewed interest in blacksmithing in the 1970s. During that time the book "The Art of Blacksmithing" was written by Alex Bealer, who, ironically, got his start in blacksmithing from Ken Sr., according to the Mosses.  

"There was a small group of blacksmiths who wanted to keep the trade going. They had a little get together. That sparked the flames of interest and from that group was formed ABANA and the chapter is named the Alex Bealer Blacksmith Association," Tim said. 

In the 43 years that the shop has been in Roswell, Tim has seen many changes to the surrounding area. 

"The big part for me has been the growth of Roswell," he said.

The city was just a small town when the family moved here in 1963. Tim, Ken Jr. and sister Mary Alice all graduated from .

“Any time I wasn't in school, I was in the shop working with Dad," said Tim, a graduate of Southern Polytechnic State University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Tim believes that working in his father's shop helped him perfect his skills as an engineer and vice versa.

"Everything that I learned as an engineer is based on what I learned as a blacksmith," he said.

Throughout his professional career, Tim, continued to spend his free time working with his father at the shop. After leaving the corporate world to be a freelance engineering consultant, Tim decided to pursue his passion for metal work and started his own design business, Moss Designworks. Throughout, he has used the skills he learned from his dad to design railings, fences and metal tools for various projects, such as railings for a private retreat in Highlands, North Carolina. He says that customers want a certain item, but aren't sure what it should look like and need to be able to visualize it.

"A lot of times, a customer says, 'I need a hand rail' or 'I need a table,' but they don't really know what they want it to look like," Tim said.

Because of his engineering background, he is able to construct and bring to life that which a client cannot visualize through mere conversation. He finds himself many times doing at-home consultations, which is helpful for both he and the client.  

"Part of being a designer is to work with them, evaluate their style and produce an idea," said Tim.

Whether a customer is needing a metal object to be repaired, or if they are in the market for an exquisitely designed iron gate, staircase railing or door hinges, the Moss Blacksmith Shop takes care of its customer needs and wants. Currently, the shop works by appointment only. Tim Moss can be contacted at moss4909@gmail.com.  

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