Metalworker

A metalworker in the wizarding world is a craftsperson who forges and shapes metal, often imbuing their creations with powerful magic. While wizards may practice some forms of metalworking, the most renowned and skillful metalworkers are, by far, the Goblins. Their expertise, particularly with silver, allows them to create artifacts of incredible beauty, durability, and magical power, which are prized and sometimes contested throughout wizarding history.

The craft of metalworking is almost exclusively associated with the Goblins, who are considered masters of the art. Their skills are legendary, enabling them to craft not only beautiful objects but also items with complex magical enchantments that are difficult, if not impossible, for wizards to replicate.

• Goblins: They are acknowledged as the pre-eminent metalworkers. Their work is characterized by its fine craftsmanship and the unique magical properties they incorporate. Bill Weasley, having worked at Gringotts Wizarding Bank, referred to them as “very clever metalworkers.” Their abilities extend to minting the wizarding currency (Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts) and constructing the high-security vaults of Gringotts.
• Ragnuk the First: The goblin king who was considered the finest of all goblin silversmiths. He was the creator of the famous Sword of Gryffindor.
• Griphook: A Gringotts goblin who possessed a deep understanding of goblin-made artifacts. He was able to immediately identify a copy of the Sword of Gryffindor as a fake, highlighting the inimitable quality of genuine goblin craftsmanship.

Goblin metalwork is responsible for some of the most significant magical objects in the wizarding world.

• Sword of Gryffindor: The most famous example of goblin metalwork, forged from pure silver by Ragnuk the First for Godric Gryffindor. A key property of goblin silver is that it imbibes any substance that will make it stronger. As such, the sword absorbed basilisk venom after Harry Potter used it to kill the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, allowing it to destroy Horcruxes.
• Gringotts Vault Doors: The doors to the high-security vaults at Gringotts are a testament to goblin skill. These metal doors are magically enchanted; some, like the one to Vault 713, must be stroked by a certified Gringotts goblin to open and will trap any unauthorized person inside.
• Counterfeit Objects: Goblins are also capable of creating fakes, though their expertise allows them to easily distinguish their own masterwork from a crude copy. A counterfeit Sword of Gryffindor was placed in the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange as a security measure.

The skill of goblin metalworkers is intrinsically linked to the goblin conception of ownership, which has been a major source of conflict between goblins and wizards for centuries. Goblins believe that the true owner of an object is its maker, not the one who purchased it. From their perspective, a wizard who pays for a goblin-made item is merely renting it for their lifetime. Upon the wizard's death, the object should rightfully be returned to the goblin who made it or their descendants. This belief is fundamentally at odds with the wizarding concept of inheritance and ownership. This cultural clash is most prominently illustrated by the history of the Sword of Gryffindor. According to the goblin version of history, Ragnuk the First created the sword for Godric Gryffindor, but Gryffindor later “stole” it from him. This long-held grievance fueled Griphook's desire to reclaim the sword from Harry Potter during the Second Wizarding War.