Colonial Blacksmith Tools

The blacksmiths of the colonial era used a number of tools to produce various objects that were needed by the colony or their settlements. In the colonial era, the settlers and migrants traveled to distant lands far from home in order to set up a colony and begin a new life. Throughout the era of exploration, many colonies in the New World, i.e. the continent of America, Australia, New Zealand, South east Asia, India, Pacific Islands etc were set up.

A colony was basically a self-sufficient settlement where farmers, lumberjacks, artisans, hunters, trappers, etc. carried out their activities on an extensive scale by using the resources of the new land that they discovered. Out of all the tradesmen who lived in the colonies, the blacksmith held a very important and prestigious position. The blacksmiths provided the settlers all the tools and metal equipment that they needed. These tools and equipment were usually not available with the natives of the foreign land. As the transport in those times was very slow and unreliable, it was also not feasible to import the needs of the settlers. The blacksmiths thus made the colony or settlement self-sufficient.

Blacksmith Tools of the Colonial Era

The colonial blacksmith tools were basically made from iron and other ferrous alloys. The basic tools and requirements needed to set up the smithy or forge would be shipped initially from the main land or mother country, to the colony. The remaining tools would be made by the blacksmith in the settlement.

Anvil
The anvil was the simplest of all the blacksmith tools. The anvil is nothing but a block of hard iron that is used as a surface when the hammer is used to shape an object with a hammer. The anvil was basically shaped in such a manner that it could easily sustain blows from the hammer. Even today the anvil is used by many metal workers as a surface, when they need to shape metallic objects. The 'face' of the anvil was used by the colonial blacksmiths, to shape the objects as it was a plain and smooth surface. While shaping the metallic object in a circular manner, the smiths used the 'horn' of the anvil. The bending of metal was done using the Pritchel hole and the hardy hole.

Punch
The Punch was basically used to make small holes with even diameters in blocks or sheets of metal. The colonial blacksmiths used a wide range punches of different diameters to make holes of variable diameters. The punch is more appropriately known as the punch rod. One end of the rod is used to actually make the hole and the second end is used to strike the hammer.

Hacksaw
The hacksaw was literally a saw that had a powerful blade and was used to cut metallic sheets and sods. The hacksaw is used even today in many cutting and machining processes.

Vise
A vise was a very effective clamp that was used to hold the metallic object, when the black smith could not use both his hands, to hammer and hold the object at the same time. The vise can also be effectively used during the cutting process and filing process.

Many of these tools are used even today and have undergone some modifications in the course of time. Some other tools used by colonial blacksmiths were hammers, bellows, tongs, chisels, etc.