Thehammerwaslefttobideitstime。Noforge-masterwouldtakeitup。Theinventorwrotetoallthegreatfirms，urgingitssuperioritytoeveryothertoolforworkingmalleableironintoallkindsofforgework。ThushewroteandsentillustrativesketchesofhishammertoAccramansandMorganofBristol，tothelateBenjaminHickandRushtonandEckersleyofBolton，toHowardandRavenhillofRotherhithe，andotherfirms；butunhappilybadtimesfortheirontradehadsetin；andalthoughalltowhomhecommunicatedhisdesignweremuchstruckwithitssimplicityandobviousadvantages，theanswerusuallygivenwas——”Wehavenotordersenoughtokeepinworktheforge-hammerswealreadyhave，andwedonotdesireatpresenttoaddanynewones，howeverimproved。”Atthattimenopatenthadbeentakenoutfortheinvention。Mr。Nasmythhadnotyetsavedmoneyenoughtoenablehimtodosoonhisownaccount；andhispartnerdeclinedtospendmoneyuponatoolthatnoengineerwouldgivethefirmanorderfor。Nosecretwasmadeoftheinvention，and，exceptingtoitsowner，itdidnotseemtobeworthonefarthing。
Suchwastheunpromisingstateofaffairs，whenM。Schneider，oftheCreusotIronWorksinFrance，calledatthePatricroftworkstogetherwithhispracticalmechanicM。Bourdon，forthepurposeoforderingsometoolsofthefirm。Mr。Nasmythwasabsentonajourneyatthetime，buthispartner，Mr。Gaskell，asanactofcourtesytothestrangers，tooktheopportunityofshowingthemallthatwasnewandinterestinginregardtomechanismabouttheworks。Andamongotherthings，Mr。Gaskellbroughtouthispartner’ssketchor”Schemebook，”whichlayinadrawerintheoffice，andshowedthemthedesignoftheSteamHammer，whichnoEnglishfirmwouldadopt。Theyweremuchstruckwithitssimplicityandpracticalutility；andM。
Bourdontookcarefulnoteofitsarrangements。Mr。NasmythonhisreturnwasinformedofthevisitofMM。SchneiderandBourdon，butthecircumstanceoftheirhavinginspectedthedesignofhissteam-hammerseemstohavebeenregardedbyhispartnerastootrivialamattertoberepeatedtohim；andheknewnothingofthecircumstanceuntilhisvisittoFranceinApril，1840。WhenpassingthroughtheworksatCreusotwithM。Bourdon，Mr。Nasmythsawacrankshaftofunusualsize，notonlyforgedinthepiece，butpunched。Heimmediatelyasked，”Howdidyouforgethatshaft?”M。Bourdon’sanswerwas，”Why，withyourhammer，tobesure！”GreatindeedwasNasmyth’ssurprise；forhehadneveryetseenthehammer，exceptinhisowndrawing！Alittleexplanationsoonclearedallup。M。Bourdonsaidhehadbeensomuchstruckwiththeingenuityandsimplicityofthearrangement，thathehadnosoonerreturnedthanhesettowork，andhadahammermadeingeneralaccordancewiththedesignMr。
Gaskellhadshownhim；andthatitsperformanceshadansweredhiseveryexpectation。HethentookMr。Nasmythtoseethesteam-hammer；
andgreatwashisdelightatseeingthechildofhisbraininfullandactivework。Itwasnot，accordingtoMr。Nasmyth’sideas，quiteperfect，andhereadilysuggestedseveralimprovements，conformablewiththeoriginaldesign，whichM。Bourdonforthwithadopted。