Forging an Iron Fish Hook — Drawing, Bending, and Barbing Wire Stock

Bone and bronze fish hooks served for thousands of years, but iron hooks changed the economics of fishing. Iron is cheaper than bronze, harder than bone, and can be drawn to finer gauges — meaning smaller hooks for smaller fish, and stronger hooks for larger ones. Iron hooks could be mass-produced by a village smith in batches of dozens, making them nearly disposable.

An iron fish hook is forged from a short length of iron wire or drawn rod. The wire is tapered to a sharp point, a barb is cut with a chisel, the shaft is bent into a J or U shape around a mandrel, and the eye is formed by bending a small loop at the top. The entire hook is then case-carburised to harden the point and barb so they hold their edge in use.

This is one of the simplest forge projects — it uses almost no material and teaches fine control of thin stock at low heat. It also demonstrates that not all forge work involves heavy hammering; the smith must work delicately to avoid burning the thin wire.