Rancho Guajome blacksmith at Work |
 Why a UnicornShoe?
Well, Guajome Adobe's own blacksmith, Ed White, will tell you a few reasons too, when you see him at work. But mainly, since they are small and can be made quickly, he can demonstrate the basics of a blacksmith at work, as well as provide a handcrafted memento to children and adults who visit and learn a little of the black smithing trade.
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The blacksmith was a craftsman who made or repaired virtually all the iron and steel implements and fixtures for a ranch or often for a town. He crafted a large variety of items: tools, weaponry, farming tools, parts for wagons and carriages, machinery, construction materials, and household items. He was also often the farrier, the term for a blacksmith who specialized in shoeing horses. Some items made by the blacksmith included nails, bolts, hinges, cooking utensils, candlesticks, hammers and other tools, axes, branding irons, sickles and plowshares, iron tires for wheels, fasteners, and decorative wrought iron as well.
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 The tools of a blacksmith include the forge, where the fire is made and the metal heated, coal or charcoal for fuel, a bellows or blower to control the fire, pokers and other tools to manage the fire, an anvil and assortment of hammers, chisels, punches, shaping tools and vise to form the hot metal into the desired items, and a water barrel to cool the metal and finished products. |
The word blacksmith comes from the term smith or smithy, one who worked in metals, and black, from iron, commonly called black metal. Early California developed under Spain, then Mexico, herrero is the Spanish word for blacksmith. Farrier is derived from the Latin word for iron, ferrum.
And ... if you find that the unicorn shoe doesn't fit, just bring your unicorn back in here for a proper sizing!
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