The art of smithy work was highly regarded in Voss in older times. At Staup lived many persons who had shown remarkable skills as smiths. Per Larsson, b.1760, was a master at making locks and fittings for chests. The Voss chests were often unpainted, the forged fittings were therefore important decorative features on the chests. Anders Eiriksson (1822-1891) forged a lot of locks for inserting into the door blade, but also other door locks and chest locks. His brother, ARNFINN EIRIKSSON (1824-1897) was also an exceptionally skilled locksmith. He made the smithy work so accurate that there was little work left in filing the lock parts. From a man from Gudbrandsdal, called “Maskin-Hans” the two brothers learned to make wood-carving machines operated by waterwheels, and they later made several of them in the local community. At Blikberget, the neighbouring farm to Staup, lived Odd Knutsson (1835-1907); another well-known locksmith.
The farmyard at Staup. Image from around 1990
The farmyard at Staup. Image from around 1990 (photo: Egil Korsnes, eigar: Voss Folkemuseum).
Staup
THE BLACKSMITHS AT STAUP
The farm STAUP lies on a shelf in the terrain above Løno. From the highway E16 it is possible to glimpse the houses through the trees. The farm is without a road, and the old farmyard and the cultural landscape is very well preserved. In the 1980s grants were given to carry out maintenance work with the intention of protecting the houses in the farmyard.
Kunsten å vinna ut jern av myrmalm er gammal. I Vossebygdene finst det mange stader i fjellet slaggklumpar etter smeltinga, og stadnamn som Jenngruehaugen og Blæstermyrane fortel om den gamle jernvinna. Det som er funne til denne tid, tyder likevel ikkje på slik stordrift som i Trøndelag og på Hardangervidda. Prøver av kolrestar frå ein slaggdunge på stølen Brileset på Voss er daterte til tida kring Kristi fødsel, så denne verksemda har høyrt heime i den tidlegaste bolken av jernvinne i landet vårt.
I 1768 skreiv presten Even Meldal ein artikkel til Bergens Adressecontoirs Efterretninger om myrmalmsmeltinga på Voss. Der fortel han om Olav Botolvsson Sundve som hadde teke opp att den gamle jernvinna. På Meldal si tid var det særleg i Myrkdalen dei dreiv med jernblåster. Der var det rikeleg med myrmalm tett ved gardane, slik at drifta lønte seg, og «nesten enhver Gaardbruger havde derfor sine Smeltegruber,» skriv Meldal.
Lås i jern (Egil Korsnes, eigar: Voss Folkemuseum).