History of fireplace tools

Many different fireplace tools are used when it comes to building and maintaining home fireplace fires and each of these tools has a different story to tell about how they appeared in your fireplace hearth. This story will deal with the andiron, bellows, vibrators, and fireplace screens. Shovels, tongs, brushes are also included with the fireplace tools, but it is quite difficult to determine how and when these particular tools began to be used.

To begin our discussion, let’s start with the definition of a tool. This is a device that provides a mechanical advantage to perform a physical task. Archeology has determined that man used various tools since the beginning of our existence. A tool can be as simple as a stick that is used to poke something to reach and move it.

Poker

With that in mind, let’s begin our exploration of the history of fireplace tools with the poker. A poker, also known as a stoker, is a short, stiff rod used to move burning material in the fire. Today’s fireplace vibrators are typically made of metal with a tip at one end to push the burning material and a handle at the other end. Archeology shows that we have used poker as a fireplace tool since the Paleolithic period. This period is the prehistoric era that is noted for the development of the first stone tools. It covers the period from 2.5 or 2.6 million years ago to around 10,000 BC. C. with the introduction of agriculture. It represents the majority of human time on Earth (about 99% of human history). Archaeologists believe that chimney pokers were invented just after the discovery of fire (790,000 years ago) and that the first pokers were probably made of the same material as the fuel for fire, that is, wood. In the beginning, the fireplace poker, or “fire stick,” was probably a large branch of some kind that was used to help keep the fire going.

Throughout the ages, this fireplace tool has evolved and as other tools were used, the fireplace poker has been gaining popularity. Until the 17th century in England you could only find a fire fork and andirons for the fireplace, but in the 19th century a fireplace poker was always used and the fire fork had almost disappeared.

The first successful mass production of poker as part of a complete fireplace set was designed and manufactured in Cape Girardeau, Missouri by RL Hendrickson Manufacturing Corporation in 1898. From that time until now, poker is almost always considered part of the tool assembly. fireplace.

“By fire plates … the housekeeper and the ironmonger mean a fire shovel, a poker and a pair of tongs. These implements were not all found in the old homes of this country, nor were they all needed when it burned firewood over a fireplace … The use of pit charcoal, and nearby fireplaces, allows the adoption of the poker now in universal demand “. Robert Hunt, Treatise on the Progressive Improvement and Present Status of Metal Manufactures, 1853.

Andirons

An andiron is a horizontal bar on which logs are placed to be burned in a fireplace. Andirons usually come in pairs. They hold the firewood so that a stream of air can pass around it and allow proper combustion and less smoke. Andirons stand on short legs and are usually connected with a vertical guard.

When man began to study fire and its properties seriously, it was discovered that allowing air to circulate around the fire led to better fires. Due to this discovery, andirons became increasingly popular. In the 16th to 18th centuries AD, they were also used as a roasting break or to contain porridge.

Before the 14th century, andirons were almost always forged from wrought iron and were very simple. During the Italian Renaissance period (14th to 17th centuries AD), many ordinary household objects caught the attention of artists and design and skill were used to produce andirons. The andiron reached its most artistic development under Louis XIV of France (late 1600s). The guard (the vertical part of the andiron) was elaborately ornamented. The patterns consisted of heraldic symbols, sphinxes, grotesque animals, mythological creatures, and much more.

Sometimes the creature he was portraying referred to andirons. An example of this that continues to this day is the fire dog. Andirons that represented dogs were called fire dogs. This plays on the double meaning of the word dog (canine and inanimate possessor). In some areas, fire dog began to be used to refer to any andiron. In the United States, the andiron was used once only in the north and the iron for dogs, the fire dog, or simply the dog was used to identify andirons in the south. The southern term is still used in that region, but andiron is now used everywhere.

“Lighting a fire, however simple, is an operation that requires a certain skill; a fire is easily lit by placing some ashes at the bottom in open order; on this, a few pieces of paper, and on that, again, eight or ten pieces of dry paper.wood; on the wood, a row of moderately sized pieces of charcoal, taking care to leave hollow spaces between them so that the air in the center; and taking care to put the whole well on the grate, so that smoke can go up the chimney, and not in the room. This done, light the paper with a match from below and, if correctly placed, it will soon burn; the current of flames from the wood and the paper will soon communicate with embers and ashes, as long as there is a lot of air in the center. ” Isabella Beeton, Home Management Book, 1861.

Bellows

The bellows is a mechanical device to create a jet of air. It usually consists of a hinged box with flexible sides, which expands to draw air through an inward opening value and contracts to expel air through a nozzle.

The bellows was widely used in medieval Europe (5th to 16th centuries). It was used to speed up the combustion of a blacksmith and later to operate pipe organs. One of the simplest and most familiar types of bellows is the manual one used with fireplaces. The expandable chamber consists of a leather pouch with pleated sides. The bag attaches between handles to expand and contract. The inlet and outlet grilles are provided with values ​​so that the air enters through the first and leaves through the second. Thus, the bellows of the fireplace becomes a simple air pump.

When we think of fireplaces we usually think of these simple bellows. But the bellows have played an important role in history. Metal casting was not possible until after the invention of the bellows that made the first plane possible. The bellows supply additional air to the fuel and increase the rate of heat production needed for casting. Around 3000 BC manual bellows were used for casting metals (bronze). The first evidence of iron casting dates back to 930 BC. C.

Although primitive man did not need to heat and cook at the temperatures necessary for smelting, he did discover that the bellows of the chimneys facilitated the construction of the fire. Feeding wood with a bellows produces a hotter flame and the logs start much faster. This is especially important when working with wet logs. Furthermore, the chimney bellows were used from the beginning to create an air stream to expel the ashes from the chimney during cleaning.

Today, fireplace bellows are still a necessary tool in the fireplace hearth. It is also a tool that many people like to design and make on their own. Many bellows are made of beautiful wood and can have very intricate designs that create an elegant object to be displayed by the fire.

Fireplace screens

Although there is no exact date for when fireplace screens came into use, we do know that they were first a form of furniture that protected people from any excess heat that came from a wood burning fireplace. Early fireplace screens were generally in the form of flat panels that stood on attached feet, or as adjustable shield-shaped panels mounted on tripod table legs.

Today’s fireplace screens come in many decorative designs and are made of metal, glass, or wire mesh and are placed in front of the fireplace to protect the room from flying embers that can come from the fire. They are sometimes used to cover the fireplace when not in use to make the area more decorative.

Whichever fireplace tool you use to help you build and maintain your fire, know that there is a long history behind each of those fireplace tools and centuries of use have been dedicated to perfecting the tool in your hand. And remember that in modern society fire has evolved from providing the necessary heat and cooking to a symbol of warmth and love shared by all who gather in the fireplace hearth.