Hearth Cooking Equipment : Iron Tools
The best place to acquire fireplace tools for ones fireplace is probably from a local blacksmith who will make what you want. This said, there are a few sources of tools that you may want to look at. The iron pieces that I think are the most useful are a grill with short legs — typically 2 1/2 inches (5cm) high, and one or two short-legged tripods or trivets.
- Ironman Forge: Bradenton, Florida
In my experience, blacksmiths are the most ingenious of people. If it made of metal, and you can describe it, a blacksmith can make it. What you don’t see in the catalogue can be commissioned. I use a rotating grill on my hearth, and so I can recommend the design illustrated here. Ironman forge sells tripods, but I would ask for one with legs that are 2 1/2 inches (5 cm) high. The tripods depicted in the online catalogue are taller than I recommend for hearth coooking. - Goose Bay Workshops: Bridgeville, Delaware
Peter Goebel makes a wide range of reproduction culinary equipment out of copper, brass, and tin. Essentially all of his cookware was designed for use on the open hearth. If you are interested in country European cuisine — or Medeival cooking — then you often need bread crumbs. Peter sells a beautiful bread grater. Regarding cookware for the hearth, I call your attention to his mulling cone. His cone has a wooden handle — the cone I describe in my book has a metal handle — but it will make wonderful mulled beverages nonetheless. I only advise you take some care when thrusting it into hot ashes lest the handle begin to char. - Ball and Ball: Exton, Pennsylvania
- See above under Clock-work Spits.
- Historic Housefitters Co.: Brewster, New York
- This mail order company sells hearth tools, including a crane, a few cooking utensils, eighteenth-century lighting, and a wide range of brass and hard- and machine-forged iron hardware.