Blacksmiths used iron and steel along with charcoal or coal for fueling the fire. Iron was smelted in Virginia as early as 1608, which put it into a usable state for the smiths. Steel and iron were imported from England as well, some of the iron ore supplies came out of the colonies and were sent to England to be smelted first. In fact, America was one of the largest exporters of raw iron ore. As for the fuel, charcoal was easy to get as we were clearing a great deal of land of trees and soft coal was being mined in Virginia by 1710.

Blacksmiths were an incredibly necessary part of existence in the Colonies and were usually one of the first shops set up in new areas. While a great deal can be shipped over ready made from England, someone to repair or produce specialty items is an immediate need. To go back to the very beginning, the tools for tilling the soil and cutting down trees in England would not work well on the clay soil and much older trees in Virginia and new tools needed to be produced here for that.

Blacksmiths in the Colonies were not as specialized as in England or Europe, not being able to compete with the mass produced, cheaper goods being imported. We also didn't have a population size that would have allowed for or needed the industrial sized number of blacksmiths seen across the ocean. Our industrial revolution occurs in the 19th century because we have the man power, something already in full swing over there a century before.