A forge is a smith's workshop... It holds his hammer, anvil and hearth A metalworkers forge contains everything he needs to shape different metals. With his tools, the smith pounds, twists, cuts or pulls raw metal into practical or beautiful forms. A smith cold-forges soft metals, such as gold and silver - he hammers them into shape. Before he forges a hard metal the smith heats it on his hearth. He uses tongs to lift the soft, red-hot metal onto his anvil, where he beats it with his hammer. As the metal cools and hardens, the smith reheats it. A lump of copper, bronze or iron may be reheated over and over again as the smith works it into the right shape. To watch a video showing a smith working in the Kano Grand Market in Nigeria, select the following option: 2 MB 6 frames/sec presentation. (low speed connection okay)