America's Oldest Coppersmith?

Coppersmith Hans Brueckl with some of the copper pieces he creates and repairs for The Manor restaurant in West Orange, New Jersey.

Is 75-year-old Hans Brueckl the oldest active coppersmith in America? Although this artisan, who has been practicing his craft for more than 60 years, is semiretired, he still devotes several days a week to creating and repairing pots, serving pieces and decorative items for the upscale restaurants owned by the Knowles family. They include The Manor, Highlawn Pavilion and Pleasantdale Chateau, all in West Orange, New Jersey, and the Ram's Head Inn in Absecon.

Apprenticed at 14 in Austria, he first worked on locomotives, then made pots for the pharmaceutical industry. In 1957, at age 20, he immigrated to the USA, where he worked as a coppersmith in Texas, New York and then New Jersey, which is when he first began his long relationship with the Knowles family.

In addition to working with copper, he also does some silver-plating. Mostly, he's retinning the insides of heavily used copper pots, which has to be done about every six months. His source of coper is Unimet Metal Supply, Orange, New Jersey.

To clean copper pots, which should be done carefully after every use, he recommends Twinkle brand copper cleaner. He also cautions against baking in copper pans because that may require professional polishing.

The Manor: 973-731-2360
Unimet: 973-673-5700

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