A blacksmith's striker?

[nyx1895]

My 4x great-grandfather was a striker for a blacksmith in England. Can anyone tell me exactly what he did?

[Kay99]

Welcome to RootsChat 

A blacksmith's striker was an assistant to a blacksmith.   His work includied swinging the heavy sledgehammer and striking the hot iron in the metal forging process  http://blacksmiths.mygenwebs.com/_glossary.php   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacksmith

Kay

[youngtug]

Depending on the type of blacksmithing involved he could have worked alone with a smith or in a team of strikers if it was bigger work or in an industrial setting. Here are a couple of examples; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG8M8neRQB0

and;  https://youtu.be/2uvOgWapG2g

[bykerlads]

We're have a striker to boilermaker, mid1800's in Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Assume this was part of the shipbuilding industry?
The chap actually died in his early thirties of "cancer of the rectum" (death cert). Have often wondered if this was caused by exposure to some kind of industrial toxin or pollutant, as this seems very young for such a disease.

[Skoosh]

bykerlads,  he might have been operating a steam hammer, a hammerman in other words. Not a trade but skilled work, one of my g'fathers was a railway hammermen for a time and he had served his time as a bootmaker.

Shocking death, health & safety not much of a priority then, working in clothes contaminated with asbestos or soaked in mineral oil/chemicals. Very high incidence of asbestos related death here on the Clyde, it's still killing women who only washed the family dungarees.

Why do people get bowel cancer nowadays? even people who eat the right things, don't drink/smoke, sadly you'll never know I'm afraid.

Bests,

Skoosh.

[tomkin]

    We had a team of skilled Blacksmiths when I was an apprentice. Youngtugs links'

     especially the 2nd one brought back many memories. The Strikers were often young

    strong lads, many of them my mates.   It was regarded as a low rate job, the Strikers

     being the strength and stamina and the Blacksmith the skills. Most of the Blacksmiths

     though weren't people you would argue with. 

        P.S. One of the low rated Strikers went on to become a Millionaire. I've often wondered

         where I went wrong.

[youngtug]

  http://www.rootschat.com/links/01f7t/