This article examines the masculinity of metal workers in the post-WWll era of reparation and
radical societal change in Finland. Young men from agrarian communities took on employment
in metal irulustry jobs in droves after WWII. In this paper, metal workers' masculinity is
explored in three areas: (a) the transirional fienod when young men took their first steps in the
shoes of metal workers; (b) defining the personal territory of work; and (c) the men's physical
capacity to bear their strenuous work. The sources we draw on are the metal workers' work-life
stories and workplace narratives in which they write about their personal experiences of work arid
their attitude about the trade. According to our analyses, metal workers' culture was a doubleedged
sword. Male workers respected the skills, strength, and autonomy of their trade, but the
work in itself and the habits and informal norms of the masculine irdustrial culture were often
harmful to their health. Hence, although the masculinity of the post-war industrial era helped
these men to overcome daily éfficulties arul to find collective strength uihen needed, masculinity
was also connected to risk-ta/cing, and even with illnesses and premature death.