An exile of Erebor Snori has "prospered after a fashion" by forging iron objects and tools as Enedwaith lacks the vast gold and precious gems of his lost home, he could no longer craft legendary, beautiful treasures.
Mimnern is cautious about the smell of forged iron that comes from Snori. His craftsmanship can be used for good, to decorate the earth with beauty, and for evil, to mar it with the tools of warfare.
@joe_blivion, right now Snori seems to have only 2 skills: "forging & repairing" and "hand to hand martial combat" … please pick a 3rd skill to balance him with the rules and other characters
Dwarves weren't unheard of in Bree, and perhaps that was what gave Posco the courage to initially approach Snori when they first met.
But the Hobbit has a toxic trait of believing that all dwarves are as old as the stone that Aule shaped their forefathers from, and expects (in a non-demanding fashion) them all to have a commensurate wisdom and knowledge of such an aged thing, whether they do or not.