Pewtersmiths honor age-old tradition

If Robin Hood, King Arthur or William Shakespeare were to parachute into the 21st century, they'd feel right at home in a nondescript cul-de-sac in San Leandro.

That's where Fellowship Foundry is located, a mom-and-pop metal works that's one of the last places in the United States to make hand-crafted pewter goblets, candlesticks, chess pieces and other emblems of the Middle Ages.

"It may sound corny, but we're really trying to put art into objects used in everyday life," said co-owner Randal Moore. "And pewter is just a great metal to work with."

For millennia, or at least since the Roman Empire, pewter was as much a part of household kitchens as plastic and stainless steel are today. More durable than tin and cheaper than silver, pewter was in cups, spoons and plates everywhere - from taverns to cathedrals, cottages to castles.

A thirsty villager would spend a sizable chunk of his income on a pewter goblet and carry it on his belt. The goblet wouldn't dent, chip, break, tarnish or leave an aftertaste. In the best scenarios, it could be passed through the generations, a pearl-colored heirloom combining practicality and aesthetics.

These days, pewter goblets are more likely found at Renaissance fairs than on belt loops. That's where Fellowship Foundry sells most of its wares, along with churches, gift shops and jewelry stores.

But the medieval touch is still there. Their work is a mythical bestiary of dragons, unicorns and fairies, intricately detailed and bejeweled with crystals. Celtic knots, roses, skulls and axes feature prominently. A typical goblet sells for about $150.

"I don't want to say what the designs are," Moore said. "I want to let someone discover it on their own and decide for themselves what they think it is."

Each piece takes about three months to complete, from the initial sketch to the finished product. The process has changed little over the eons. A pewtersmith pours molten pewter, heated to 650 degrees, into a mold, and then solders the pieces when they cool.

The only modern improvements are that the pewter no longer contains lead and the pewtersmith uses a mechanized spinning contraption to fill the molds, instead of casting by hand.

"It's an amazing thing to watch. It's like solving puzzles all day," said Fellowship Foundry pewtersmith Wells Twombly, referring to the constant adjustments of pressure and temperature. "You think about the Romans doing this, the Greeks. It's a great link to history."