Forge of Tan A Tung's household is still on a steady fire.

Mr. Chau A Ga's family is one of the few families in Hoa Su Pan 1 village, Muong Hoa commune that still retains the traditional forging profession. This is the profession of father and son of the family. When he was first trained, Mr. Ga mainly forged agricultural tools to serve the family's needs and helped several households in the village. After realizing the increasing demand of the market, he forged more items to supply people in the commune and neighboring communes. Up to now, with more than 30 years working in the profession, the forging products of his family have been known by many people such as knives, hoes, plowshares ... There are times when, handmade forging products are "disgraced" because of difficulty compete with industrial goods of the same type with low price. In recent years, more and more customers tend to buy handcrafted forging products, so the forge of Mr. Ga's household continues to burn day and night.

Mr. Chau A Gia said: To make products like that, in addition to choosing good steel, suitable for each product, it also requires hardening experience. This is the most difficult and also the most important step in achieving quality products. In order to have high durability and long-term use of each product, leaf spring scrap is the best raw material.

Through each time he made a knife, he draws experiences of tempering, heating steel, beating hammer on anvil. In the summer, he adds ice to tempering water to make it hard and sharp. He does not use motor oil but uses water and only pour water equalling to a part of the knife, so the knife is sharp, durable and flexible, if the knife is submerged in the water, it will be easily bended and chipped.

 “To complete a knife, the blacksmith must master both carpentry to make the holder and the sheath. The sheath is easier to make, and the holder requires a lot of work. We have to go to the deep forest to find the forest jackfruit tree, the most suitable wood to make the knife holder. Each log of the appropriate length is rounded like a pickaxe handle, creating a slot in the middle, then mounting the two sides of the wood with copper or aluminum stitches, ”said Mr. Gia.

However, if depend on forging the agricultural tools sold to the local people, the forge could not burn steadily, and the profit was not high. The blacksmiths in Muong Hoa commune are sensitive to the market, finding new directions, which is to create products that keep both traditional culture and high aesthetics for tourists. Typical is the product of buffalo horn for hanging decorations. Buffalo horn knife with holder and sheath are made from buffalo horn, knife holder is made from small buffalo horn, sheath is made of big buffalo horn. To sharpen the horn of the buffalo, it is smooth, polished and desired, with a grinding machine and elaborate technique.

Mr. Tan A Tung (left) introduces buffalo horn knife to customer.

Mr. Tan A Tung in Hoa Su Pan 1 village, Muong Hoa commune said: To make a knife with buffalo horn, in addition to forging the blade as you wish, choosing buffalo horn as a sheath is also very important. My family had to buy buffalo horn in Lai Chau province. The white buffalo horn was more valuable and favored by the market than the black buffalo horn.

The purchase price of raw materials is calculated according to the weight, each kg of buffalo horn costs from 1.5 to 3 million VND. Knives are sold from 2.5 million to 3.5 million/ pair depending on size and color.

Thanks to making products to serve tourists, the work of the blacksmiths in Muong Hoa is more equal, the blacksmith's income is somewhat satisfactory for their efforts, helping them to preserve the quintessence of transmission. system.

The good news is that most of the blacksmiths in Muong Hoa today still use traditional tools. The products are made entirely by hand, from cutting iron, shaping, hammering, making handles ... Therefore, the forging items of the forges of Muong Hoa commune are not only durable, but also available and has a unique sophistication and sharpness, crystallizing both long-standing cultural traditions.

Mr. Tan A Lenh, Chairman of Muong Hoa Commune People's Committee said: In the commune, there are about 10 households still retaining the traditional forging profession. Forging not only contributes practically to life, labor, production, increases income for people, but also contributes to maintaining the unique culture of the H’mong here. With new directions, creating products to serve tourists, the forging profession in the commune has more opportunities for further development.