Swage Block

A heavy metalworking tool cast from iron or steel, block-shaped and pierced with holes of many shapes and sizes, with its edges cut into a scalloped run of formed grooves and shapes. A smith rests a heated bar of metal in one of the block's holes to hold, support or back it up while bending, cutting, punching or otherwise forming it, and works the metal against the scalloped shapes on its sides, matched with a corresponding top swage held and struck from above, to press a particular cross-section, such as a curved wheel profile or a hexagonal bar, into the piece. Industrial swage blocks are the traditional form used in commercial smithing; artist blacksmiths also use custom-designed blocks with hemispherical dishes, asymmetrical curves and other non-standard shapes suited to forming spoons, ladles and funnels rather than standard stock. The swage block sits at the forge alongside the anvil as one of the smith's core shaping tools.