The last two blacksmiths in Kedungkandang, Malang, still forging sickles and machetes

In Kedungkandang, Malang City, a traditional blacksmith workshop with a burning furnace still operates. According to TIMES Indonesia, Sunar and his nephew Yono keep forging iron by hand at a workshop beside the office of the Polsek Kedungkandang police station. About ten people once worked there; now only two remain.

No written record shows when the workshop was founded; its history has been passed down through stories from one generation to the next. An electric blower now helps keep the coals glowing, but shaping the tools is still largely done by hand. Iron comes from scrap collectors, and some of the steel from the leaf springs of used vehicles such as buses.

The material is heated and hammered repeatedly into sickles (arit) and machetes (parang). Handles are made from lamtoro wood and shaped on a manual lathe so they sit comfortably in the hand. Prices run from about Rp150,000 to Rp250,000, and production follows orders rather than a daily target.

Sunar's attitude struck me. He stays in this trade not for wealth or status, but to meet what buyers need. As the number of successors dwindles, I hope skills like forging and fitting handles this way are not lost.

Source: TIMES Indonesia