Huntsman was born the fourth child of William and Mary (née Nainby) Huntsman, a
Quaker farming couple, in
Epworth,
Lincolnshire. Some sources suggest that his parents were German immigrants, but it seems that they were both born in Lincolnshire. Huntsman started business as a clock, lock and tool maker in
Doncaster, Yorkshire. His reputation enabled him to also practice surgery in an experimental fashion and he was also consulted as an
oculist. Huntsman experimented in steel manufacture, first at Doncaster. Then, in 1740, he moved to
Handsworth, near Sheffield. Eventually, after many experiments, Huntsman was able to make satisfactory
cast steel, in clay pot
crucibles, each holding about of
blistered steel. A
flux was added, and they were covered and heated by means of
coke for about three hours. The molten steel was then poured into moulds and the crucibles reused. The first object to contain Crucible Cast Steel, was a longcase clock, made by Huntsman. It is on display in the
Enid Hattersley Gallery at
Kelham Island Museum. The local
cutlery manufacturers refused to buy Huntsman's cast steel, as it was harder than the German steel they were accustomed to using. For a long time, Huntsman exported his whole output to
France. In 1770, Huntsman moved his enterprise to Worksop Road in
Attercliffe, where he prospered until his death in 1776 and was laid to rest with a commemorative tomb in the
Hilltop Cemetery,
Attercliffe Common. The business was taken over by his son, William Huntsman (1733–1809). ==References==