The Hand-Forged Iron Shop in the Centuries-Old Zhushan Town — A Father and Son at Work, Taiwan’s Most Beautiful Sight

▲ Guo Qing-shun carries on a century-old iron forging tradition.

Reported and photographed by Reporter You T-Ru / Nantou Zhushan

Within a one-story house built of bricks lie traces of time’s slow passage. The brick wall by the entrance has been worn away over time, leaving several irregularly shaped indentations. Guo Qing-shun, the fourth-generation owner of Laifa Iron Shop, reaches through one of the holes to retrieve a letter. The letter contains a sketch of the mountain-opening knife the sender wants — a curved surface extending along the spine of the blade, with a sharp tip and an exquisitely crafted handle. “This person wrote to me specifically to request this knife design. I made one for them over ten years ago too,” says Guo Qing-shun.


▲ %The hammer strikes in the dim light of the forge.%



▲ The brick wall by the entrance has been worn away over time, with templates for knife shapes still hanging on it.

Located in the small town of Zhushan, Nantou, “Laifa Iron Shop” is Nantou’s first ironworks and has a history spanning more than a century. It is now run by the fourth and fifth generations. In the early days, the streets around Laifa Iron Shop in Zhushan were known as “Iron Street,” where numerous blacksmiths worked side by side. However, with the passage of time and the rise of mass production, most iron shops gave way to factories. Today, Laifa Iron Shop is the only remaining workshop in Zhushan that continues to practice traditional handmade iron forging.

When reporters visited Laifa Iron Shop, it was early summer. At 11 a.m., Guo Qing-shun and his son, Guo Zhi-rong, were already seated in the shop, beginning their series of iron forging processes. From raw iron to steel cladding, hammering, heating, and shaping — crafting a single handmade knife takes at least three hours, all while enduring intense heat. “There are very few hand-forged iron shops left in Taiwan today, and even fewer that do steel cladding. But the craftsmanship passed down from our ancestors must never be done carelessly.”


▲ %The forge glows as the father works steadily. %


 
▲ Visitors are welcome to tour the shop and even try their hand at “cutting iron like mud.”

Guo Qing-shun, who started learning the craft of iron forging at the age of 14, is now 62 and has been forging iron for nearly 50 years. “Before my son turned 30, I told him he could do whatever he wanted. But after 30, he had to come back and take over,” says Guo Qing-shun, concerned about the lack of successors to the traditional craft. Insisting that “skills must not be lost,” he persuaded his son to give up a high-paying job as a computer engineer and return home. Guo Qing-shun said he didn’t want to follow the trend of others in the industry and bid farewell to traditional craftsmanship. Instead, he chose to focus on customized and artistic hand-forged pieces, striving to carve out a unique niche.

After integration and continuous experimentation, Laifa Iron Shop now enjoys a stable customer base. Many customers find the handmade knives so beautiful they can’t bear to use them and ask Guo Qing-shun to make another one. Nowadays, when you visit Zhushan town, you can see the father-and-son duo, Guo Qing-shun and Guo Zhi-rong, sitting together in their dark old workshop, carefully forging and grinding the shape and curve of each blade — a beautiful sight in Taiwan’s rural towns.


▲ %The sparks fly as the father and son shape the blades, continuing a tradition that has defined the town’s character for decades. %

 
Laifa Iron Shop
Address: No. 45-1, Xia Heng Street, Zhushan Township, Nantou County
Phone: 04)9264 4912
Email: liefa644912@gmail.com
Business Hours: 07:30–21:30