The
Blacksmith
 I am a
blacksmith. The blacksmith is
one of the most important craftsmen in every town. I am important
because I make practically everything that is needed such as shoes for
horses and oxen, pots and nails, etc. I can also be considered a dentist too, because if someone’s tooth hurts I pull the tooth out.
That is one of the reasons that colonists don’t smile much. I don’t
like to call myself a blacksmith. I mostly call myself a ferrier. I
usually wear a leather apron. When I learned blacksmithing, I needed at
least an anvil and with that I was able to make most of my
other tools. The farmer is a great customer of mine. I usually make these
things for the farmer: a hoe, plowshare, cowbell and a good old American
ax. The ax is always
made of iron because steel is too expensive.
Don't
Miss the Gallery of
Wood-Working Tools
The Cooper
 Down the street from me is the
cooper. Although I don’t like to admit
it, the cooper is also one of the most important craftsmen in the town.
He makes barrels, tubs, and buckets. Barrels are mostly used to store
the following things: salted fish, salted meat, rum, cider, beer, water,
flour, corn meal, threshed
grain, molasses, maple syrup, gun powder,
rice, indigo, tar, turpentine, and rosin. All of these things are stored
in different types of barrels. We store flour, corn meal, and threshed
grain into a barrel called a Slack barrel. Wet things like molasses,
maple syrup, gunpowder, rice, indigo, tar, turpentine, and rosin are
stored in barrels called kegs.
Coopers also make washtubs, pails, and piggins.
Coopers to the south of me make hogsheads. They put tobacco in them. The
hogsheads are slack/cylindrical and they aren’t expert work.
The cooper's apprentice usually makes them.
The Miller
My neighbor is a miller who isn’t very much
of a craftsman but the mill that he owns and runs is extremely
important. The mill is part of the reason we settled here. The miller grinds grain for the farmers. Instead of the farmer paying the
miller, the miller takes a percentage of the ground grain for a payment.
The Cobbler
The cobbler makes my shoes. He is a very busy
man because we walk a lot. The cobbler fixes old shoes and makes new
ones. It’s very expensive to get a new pair of shoes, so I make sure
my shoes are well worn before getting a new pair or getting them fixed!
The shoes aren’t very fancy, in fact, the cobbler uses the same
pattern for every shoe, and it makes no difference whether it’s left
or right! Each shoe is exactly the same.
The Silversmith
Down the road there is a silversmith. Our
silversmith is a woman! She makes dinner dishes and silverware. Her work
is like mine except she makes things out of silver not iron. Another
way she isn’t like the blacksmith is she doesn’t pull teeth.
The silversmith makes plates, cups,
melted coins, silverware, and bowls. The list seems to go on and on.
The Pewterer
The pewterer is just as valuable as the
silversmith.
He lives next door to me. The wealthy people of the town go to the
pewterer to have most of their spoons, plates, mugs, etc. made. The
pewterer has a slow business because poorer colonists can’t afford
pewter dishes. The pewterer will also fix our broken pewter.
The Tinsmith 
The tinsmith has two names, the whitesmith and the tinsmith. He will make lots of stuff to fulfill our needs.
Most of
the stuff he makes has something to do with fire because tin is fire
resistant. He makes tin candle lanterns, tin foot warmers and many more items that help me in my everyday life. The
tinsmith doesn’t usually make many new items because tin is very rare.
The tinsmith is mostly kept very busy repairing tin items that he has
already made.
The Merchant
The merchant is not one of the important
people. All he does is keep track of the general store and trades goods.
He also sells almost anything to the people of the town or colony.
The Town Crier
The town crier is how we get our news in the town. He
travels from town to town ringing a bell
to get everyone's attention. When he tells the news he doesn’t give
very much detail just a statement like: "War was declared
today".
The Tanner
The tanner is found in most towns, unlike the tailor. He is very busy. The
tanner makes clothes from animal skins. Besides the wilderness clothing
he also makes leather buckets, leather saddles, and leather mugs.
The Tailor
 The tailor is very similar to the tanner. A tailor
is found in most cities. The tailor is also extremely busy.
He sews all of the clothes by hand. Who says sewing is just for
girls? Unlike the tanner, the tailor makes the clothes out of
regular cloth, not animal skins.
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