Blacksmiths tools

[murielw]

Does anyone know what a hogwitch and wedges are? My GGG Grandfather, a blacksmith I understand, left these items in his Will to his eldest son. Any searches I've tried come up with Harry Potter!!!

murielw

[blue eyes]

I typed in Hogwitch and got Hogwitch Slayer someones user name on another forum.

Perhaps a museum may be able to help heres a link below to the Fordingbridge Museum.

http://www.fordingbridgemuseum.co.uk/

Julie

[busyglen]

Muriel, I found a mention of Blacksmith's wedges on

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacksmith

there's also a lot about the tools of the trade, but couldn't spot anything on `hogwitch'. Like Julie, I tried all sorts of places like other encyclopedias and occupations, but only came up with the same as both of you.

Glenys

[Colin Moretti]

You could try the Museum of English Rural Life:
http://www.merl.org.uk/index.html
or the St Albans Museum:
http://www.stalbansmuseums.org.uk/salaman.htm
The latter would probably be the best place to start:

On the ground floor of the Museum of St Albans is the Salaman Collection of trade tools, one of the best public collections of tools in the UK, and perhaps the only display to feature tools in general.

The tools themselves date from around 1700 to 1950. The collection was assembled by Raphael Salaman (1906-93), author of two standard works: the Dictionary of Tools used in the Woodworking and allied trades, c 1700-1970, (1975), and the Dictionary of Leatherworking tools, c1700-1950 (1986).

There are particularly good tools from trades which vanished during Salaman's lifetime: cooper, wheelwight and blacksmith; but many others are represented, from ladder maker to bricklayer.

Colin

[Guy Etchells]

I guess you have to be of a certain age. ;)
Wedges are the hammers shaped like a blunt chisel.

A hogswitch was an implement to make a twitchy horse stand for the blacksmith.

It was a wooden bar with a chain attached, when used in the horses mouth it would nip on the lips causing the horse to be distracted from the shoeing process.
Often used in the 1950s.
Cheers
Guy

[murielw]

Thanks everyone for your replies. My GGG Grandfather died in 1854 so the hogswitch must have been used then...learn something every day. He also gave the same son, his best bedstead. I wonder whether he made it himself.

murielw