Jim- On the topic of history of the old tools you asked about, here's what I have so far (from a fellow blacksmith who is just starting to write a book:
"I just started my research on a book on the history of Blacksmithing. I have some information but take it with a grain of salt. It is just from the beginning of the search.

Bronze rasps have been found in Egyptian tombs from about 1200BC. Iron rasps in Mesopotamia for around 700 BC. Hardened metal files date back to the Middle Ages around the 12th century AD.

There is a hacksaw in the Viking Mastermyr tool chest found in Sweden. That chest is generally believed to date to the late Viking/early medieval period ( around 1000 AD).

As to the leg vice, I do not have much detail yet. However, there is a clear depiction of them in Denis Diderot's Encyclopedie published in France between 1750-1770."

If I do get any more info, I will start a new topic.

Pete Stanaitis
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