To Make the Best Iron Wok in China Post-90s graduate from Lichuan to revitalize traditional craftsmanship of iron forging

By Li Yanrui & Liu Chang

“When Spring Festival is drawing near, the orders for iron woks are flooding into Iron Boy Commune at Datian Village in Nanping Town, Lichuan City of Hubei Province. “I’ve been busy with the order forms and haven’t slept for three days,” Tian said.

On January 16, 2018, 26-yearold Tian Huan, President of Iron Boy Commune, seemed a bit tired yet excited. He said, “There are still 200 WeChat friends waiting to be approved because the Iron Boy Commune group on WeChat is full (maximum 5000 members).They are all our clients.”

Magic of a Hand-made Wok

Sizzle. Several fish from Qingjiang River were placed into the 28 cm pan made by Iron Boy Commune.Without any oil and just several slices of ginger, savory, fried golden fish were ready in just a few minutes.

In order to test its magic power,Mr. Tian used another brand’s non-stick iron pan to fry fish using the same materials. The result was that the fish stuck to the bottom.

“Let me explain why the fish wasn’t as sticky in our wok. The 1.25 kg wok is made of 1.5 kg of fine iron. It took a whole day to make it, and we strictly followed the traditional method of making an ‘open wok’ by putting soy bean and fat in it.” Mr. Tian pointed to the dense hive-shaped hammer print and explained that there were over ten procedures needed to make a wok, ranging from iron selecting to iron sampling, fire making, hammering, forming,and finally chilling. It had to be hammered more than 20,000 times, and every procedure had to be completed carefully.

“3天没有睡觉了，一直在填回单。”春节将至，利川市南坪乡大田村“铁娃公社”订单如雪片般飞来。

2018年 1月16日，26岁的“铁娃公社”社长田欢，虽然略显疲惫但露着兴奋：“还有200多个微信好友没来得及加，‘铁娃公社’5000人的微信群上限已经满额了，都是订货的顾客。”

一锤锤打出来 就是不一样

“滋滋滋……”几条清江河里打捞出的洋鱼，放进“铁娃公社”出品的一口28cm的煎锅里，丢进几枚姜片，不加一滴油，不一会儿就煎得两面金黄，鱼身完整，香味四溢。

比对试验用的另一口不沾涂层品牌铁锅，按常规生姜片擦锅，适量菜油滑锅。洋鱼进锅，抖一下锅，鱼皮却黏得锅底到处都是。

“不粘那是有原因的。这口锅有2斤半，用3斤精铁打了一天。新锅启用，还按照传统方法，用黄豆和肥肉‘开锅’。” 指着上面密密麻麻的蜂巢样锤子印，田欢说，每口铁锅，需要选铁、取样、开板、烧火、捶打、成型、淬火等十来道工序，捶打2万多次，每个步骤都有讲究。

“为了打出现在这样一口好锅，自己摸索大半年，拜访多家国内制锅厂商，和十好几位老铁匠反复实验，经历几百次失败，才得成功。和机器锻压、抛光的铁锅不同，我们的铁锅全靠一锤锤打出来，锅底蜂窝状的气孔使得受热更均匀，这就是不粘的秘密。”

“It took me more than half a year to find out how to make a good wok. I visited a number of domestic wok manufacturers, did tests with dozens of experienced blacksmiths, and failed several hundred times before the final product took shape. Different from the machine-made iron woks, our wok was forged blow by blow. The hive-shaped pores at the bottom of the wok make the heat exposure more even, which is the secret to its non-stickiness.”Mr. Tian said.

Mr. Tian gained a lot of knowledge from making his iron woks, and started his journey of exploration on anvil skills by employing hammer and fire techniques.

In early 2017, Mr. Tian, with a bachelor’s degree in art design began to visit the well-known museums in China and dwelled on the exquisite patterns of ancient utensils. He also frequently attended large-scale cultural expos and learned a lot. With the help of several leading masters of the field, he had created many new iron products, such as iron boilers, tripod pots, vases, and tea sets. These products were popular among higher-paying customers for their practical functions and aesthetic values.

One message from an overseas Chinese person left to the WeChat Mall of Iron Boy Commune read,“Your hand-made products embody a craftsman’s talents. My family likes them very much. So

从日常生活用品铁锅起步，田欢小有所获。铁锤、炉火间，田欢又开启铁砧上的创作之旅。

2017年新年伊始，大学学习设计专业的田欢游走全国知名博物馆，观摩古代器皿的精美造型；频繁参加大型文创博览会，汲取营养。