Nasmyths, or nailsmiths; the Arrowsmiths, or makers of arrowheads;
the Spearsmiths, or spear makers; the Shoosmiths, or horse shoers;
the Goldsmiths, or workers in gold; and many more. The Smith proper
was, however, the worker in iron--the maker of iron tools,
implements, and arms--and hence this name exceeds in number that of
all the others combined.

In course of time the smiths of particular districts began to
distinguish themselves for their excellence in particular branches of
iron-work. From being merely the retainer of some lordly or religious
establishment, the smith worked to supply the general demand, and
gradually became a manufacturer. Thus the makers of swords, tools,
bits, and nails, congregated at Birmingham; and the makers of knives
and arrowheads at Sheffield. Chaucer speaks of the Miller of
Trompington as provided with a Sheffield whittle: -

"A Shefeld thwytel bare he in his hose."*

[footnote...
Before table-knives were invented, in the sixteenth century, the
knife was a very important article; each guest at table bearing his
own, and sharpening it at the whetstone hung up in the passage,
before sitting down to dinner, Some even carried a whetstone as well
as a knife; and one of Queen Elizabeth's presents to the Earl of
Leicester was a whetstone tipped with gold.
...]

The common English arrowheads manufactured at Sheffield were long
celebrated for their excellent temper, as Sheffield iron and steel
plates are now. The battle of Hamildon, fought in Scotland in 1402,