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Teacher note: A number of students contributed to these pages on Colonial times. Each contributed diffferent information or a different perspective. You may find that each article adds to your understanding and research base.
| Go to report # 2 | Go to repor t# 3 |
Tools.
The tools they used were hammers, chisels, cleavers, punches,
hand drills, bellows, shouldering iron, files, and tongs. These tools were used
everyday in order to finish important smiting for ordinary people o kings and
queens. 
Process of how to become a blacksmith
Usually, a lower middle class or even poor family would encourage their son to labor in some sort of job. In order to become a blacksmith you would have to go through several stages. The first stage of becoming a blacksmith you would spend three to four years training as in watching your master doing work. The second stage you would spend two years helping your master with common tasks as in carrying his master's tools, and heating up iron that would be used to bend.
Your third stage you would perform advanced training as in making pots, bending iron, making fences, and melting iron for tools. After spending several years doing advanced tasks with your master you would perform /take care and make iron materials while your master was gone for a few days. Your final stage was putting all your years of training to the test. Usually, your master would tell you to make something that a master blacksmith would do. If you pass the test, you would be considered as a blacksmith.
How the blacksmith affected the community
A blacksmith affected the community by serving the people's desires and needs. A blacksmith could make or fix anything made of iron. The blacksmith would serve anyone from the king or queen to the farmers and peasants. Some blacksmith products
were essential of living and some weren't necessary. The rich people or king or queen considered everything essential. Black smiths make nails for building. They also made iron tools for other workers. They made a variety of products like hinges ,door handles or chandeliers. We know call their work wrought iron.
How It would be in the shop 
Usually if you were a good blacksmith and had a good reputation your shop would usually be crowded. The most dreadful thing would be the heat because the heat as always on, you probably lived near your shop. Usually your living quarters would be in the house in front of your shop. You would not want to live on the second floor of the shop because the risk of fire was too great.
Benefits
The benefits or being a blacksmith is you knew how to make your own iron tools such as things for the yards and kitchen like gate hinges, nails, and horse shoes, cooking grates and fry pans. The satisfying part of doing this craft wold be that you wouldn't have to buy things made of iron. You cold make whatever you wanted like rough iron fireplace tools or candleholders. You could use designs you like and make things that fit your need exactly.
Today, in modern life, the company that would most likely be doing this craft would be metal making companies. Blacksmithing still is useful today. For example, most eating utensils are made of metal and regular household appliances are made of metal. So if we did not have metal making or blacksmiths , the quality of tools would be poor.
Summary
A person that took the role of a blacksmith would have to know these qualities of making tools. A blacksmith would always make sure the iron is hot because if not, you can't bend it. The tool you are using could get stuck.
A person who would want to run the business would have to know that each product that they made would have to have the best quality of work. They would also have to know how to use each and every tool. A person would go through several years of training to get the skills required to be a blacksmith.
Steven K
November 15,2002
Tools
The tools and supplies the blacksmith's needed were very advanced
for there time. Back then a Blacksmith could make anything that anyone needed.
Some of the tools they used to help them build there crafts and projects included;
All different sorts of hammers, chisels, and cleavers, punches, hand drills,
bellows, soldering irons, files, and of course it was necessary for every
blacksmith to have many different kinds of tongs. The hammers were used to shape
out the metal without using the fire. The chisels and cleavers were simple tools
used to cut all different things. The punches and hand drills were used to make
different kinds of holes. The bellows were used to give oxygen to the fire.
The soldering irons were used to unite the metal without heating it up and files
were used to smooth out the edges or different materials. There were different
size tongs to use, tongs were used to heat some part of the metal or all the
metal, this made it easier to bend with the hammer.
Setting
The setting for a blacksmith was a very small shop that had just enough room for him, his partner (if he had one) and his tools and projects he was working on. Since there was little room it meant there was little room for error. Also the blacksmith lived in his shop and had a small living corner for himself.
Required Skills
A blacksmith had to know his tools and what he is doing at all times. He must have a good eye for all shapes and designs. He also has to judge the temperature with just his eye. He has to be organized, pre planning what he is doing, good hand-eye coordination, and have an estimate of the cost while or before he is working on it. A blacksmith had to go through many years of being an apprentice before taking on a shop on his own or even helping someone else. He had to learn all the skills and learn how to use all the tools and equipment. In the apprentice the person who was training you had as many years as he needed to train you. If it was your own father then you would take over his shop.
How Blacksmith's Affected the Community
A Blacksmith affected many things people did. People relied on the Blacksmith to either build them something or fix something for them. If they couldn't do it the no one could. Some Blacksmiths buildings were essential for living like fences so your cattle wouldn't escape or things that aren't necessary are shovels or forks or other things. The rich considered those unessential very essential and the blacksmith got a lot of business from it.
Why would you take this job?
The satisfaction of having a job of a blacksmith is that you
can make almost anything. You can make your own furniture and materials for
your house or shop. A blacksmith would like doing this work because he has a
big responsibility to know that he has to make all the steel and iron needed
for everyone in the town. A job or industry that might do this today is a furniture
or hardwood store or just any store that has to do with steel or iron. I think
that this craft is still much useful today because we still use some of the
things that the blacksmith invented and if he didn't invent them then we might
not have them today!
Article # 3 Blacksmith
Pictures by David H. & Scott O. (1997)
Text by Josh N. & Galen T.
A blacksmith is someone who forges and shapes iron. They utilize a forge, bellows, tongs, and a hammer and anvil to create tools. They made a lot of material out of iron like nails, locks, fireplace utensils, horseshoes, hoops for barrels and metal tires for wheel, and other iron or steel objects.
First, he/she heats iron or steel to about 3000 degrees Fareinheight.
Then they use the hammer and anvil to 
shape the object to the desired
preportion. Then they cool the object in a tub of cold water to harden the object.
You needed about a 10 year apprenticship and about aother 5 of being a journeyman.
The skills you would need to become a blacksmith would be good with metal, responsibility around fire, an artistic side, and a nack at shaping objects.This craft was very important because people needed tools and nails and guns, and they could only go to a blacksmith to get these things. A blacksmith enjoyed his/ her work because they would get into a routine, and every time they worked the forge they could improve on their own skills.
This site is created and maintained by Holly
Geddes.
Last updated on
April 10, 2003