Is this blacksmith made.  

Well it looks more like hand bent and forged on the flat end so... Sure?

Then again that all could have been done cold bending and hammering as well...so it could be handyman, mechanic, fishing reel repair man, electrician etc... Made. 

Someone thought of it and made it. 

Bends that tight could be done cold but most likely it was heated and bent. The screw driver tip was forged but whether by a smith or machine it is crude in the extreme. I would venture a guess that "Farmer Made" would be more accurate. A lot of tools get made in a hurry when something needs repairing that can't wait for a trip to town or the time it would take to forge a screwdriver, make a ferrule and handle and fit it together.

it would certainly go in my "neat old tools that will eventually hang neatly on a wall" drawer. 

I just thought it was cool and had to have it for 25 cent 

4 hours ago, TwistedCustoms said:

I would venture a guess that "Farmer Made" would be more accurate.

 Hey....I resemble that remark........                        Dave

It was made by classic blacksmith method. Does it matter if the guy who made it was a mediocre smith or just some guy who needed a screwdriver?

Frosty The Lucky.

Frosty,

I agree.

We do not need a diploma or certification, in order to do things.

Regards,

SLAG.

Ha ha, so true. I also though the question was rather funny. It was made by a guy, or a lady, most likely hot ... (no that is not what I meant) ... guessing even more ... heated with an oxy torch and bent in a vice ... was he/she a blacksmith? I think he was, and he did it away from his workshop in the field and then kept it as a souvenir. Also he was left handed

Now that was a stretch, but as likely as any other guess.

Although I've not seen one like this before I have come across many formed wire screw drivers with either a flat or a raindrop shaped handle. They were not DIY items but came as part (or the entire) tool kit for the likes of sewing machines. One manufacturer that would have made many such items was the toy maker Mecanno!

I think that's a very neat little screwdriver and well made. I reckon Smoggy may be near the mark there - it looks like a thing that would come with meccano or similar construction set. The very evenly spaced bends would have taken some degree of skill - or perhaps they were machine made as part of the kit.

11 hours ago, SLAG said:

We do not need a diploma or certification, in order to do things.

Not all knowledge comes from college.

Also note that you can stuff that was blacksmith made and factory made both; as early factories might have several hundred smiths making items in them.

15 hours ago, Dave51B said:

 Hey....I resemble that remark........                        Dave

Id think a lot of us were "farmer made"...if ya get my drift.

19 hours ago, Dave51B said:

 Hey....I resemble that remark........                        Dave

It was meant as a compliment! I have improvised a lot of "one time use" tools that weren't much to look at but got the job done in a pinch. Some of them end up staying in service long past their expected expiration date. Those are the ones I work with when I'm alone and throw a towel over when someone walks into the shop :-)

6 hours ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

Not all knowledge comes from college.

Louis L'amour said in his auto biography, The Educating of a Wandering Man..."I had to drop out of school. It was interfering with my education!"

11 minutes ago, TwistedCustoms said:

19 hours ago, Dave51B said:

 Hey....I resemble that remark........                        Dave

It was meant as a compliment!

38 minutes ago, TwistedCustoms said:

"I had to drop out of school. It was interfering with my education!"

I have felt this way before. Sometimes I still do. 

@Daswulf   "The man who doesn't read has no advantage over the man who cannot read" Mark Twain

Credentials from Institutions can open doors in modern life but they are in no way a guarantee of success or even qualification.  The most valuable knowledge comes from reading and doing...IMO.  And everyone knows that PhD stands for "Piled Higher and Deeper" :-)

14 hours ago, ausfire said:

I think that's a very neat little screwdriver and well made. I reckon Smoggy may be near the mark there - it looks like a thing that would come with meccano or similar construction set. The very evenly spaced bends would have taken some degree of skill - or perhaps they were machine made as part of the kit.

Hand made not machine made. Look closer the bends are far from even. 

Happy Australia Day by the way !!!!!!!

TC, I say that as a 38yo almost 39 looking back and also at most of what I am continually taught. Not including what I learn here on IFI. To me that is invaluable. 

I personally feel that if you get out and find a passion then you are more likely to learn on that then taking the usual old "for everybody" courses. Math, language and history are always important as is science. 

I was trapped not allowed to go to tech school in HS and I feel that plays on my views. When I went to a trade school after HS I got honors since I was actually interested. I guess what I am saying is that people in school or not will learn far more in the areas that interest them rather than in forced curriculum. And that is what touched me from that saying. Personally I would have been further ahead apprenticing at a body shop getting payed pennies per hour then paying over $20,000 for an education in it. 

It's not for everyone and education is important, but I'd have been better chasing my dreams and learning all I could about it along the way. 

Daswulf, I know how you feel about chasing that dream. I would do a lot of things different if I could turn back the clock but I'm laying a foundation now to ensure that I'll be able to continue forging as long as I'm physically able. I'm not getting that lost time back, none of us are, but we can make some use of what we learned along the way and apply that knowledge as we move forward. I finally figured out that I would rather be happy than successful and for the first time in my life I'm content. If there is a way to meet your obligations and do what you love then go for it. The clock keeps on ticking either way, might as well be doing what makes us happy!

I'm in a deep debate with myself ATM. . I'll see what life throws at me. 

8 hours ago, Marc1 said:

Hand made not machine made. Look closer the bends are far from even. 

Happy Australia Day by the way !!!!!!!

Well, perhaps so, but I would be pleased to make bends as good as that! I thought they progressed in size very well.

Anyway, Happy Australia Day to you too!