Just curious. What is the old wrought iron used for?

Josh Rider

Josh Rider

Stuff maker
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Sep 2, 2014
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I see it for sale in the exchange occasionaly and it goes pretty fast.
I figure it's something unique to forge?
 
It is often used for making guards, spacers and butt caps/pommels for knives. The old stuff is sought after because I don't think true wrought iron is made anymore. What passes for "wrought iron" these days is just mild steel, which rusts. Wrought iron has kind of a fibrous texture and has a visual grain to it. When fittings made from wrought iron are etched with acid the grain becomes very prominent and is visually appealing. Also because of the slag or glass content in the iron, and low carbon from the manufacturing process, it is very weather and rust resistant. It can still be found through salvage yards, ebay or some knife supply places. Aldo the NJ steel baron has old wrought iron too.
 
i4Marc said:
It is often used for making guards, spacers and butt caps/pommels for knives. The old stuff is sought after because I don't think true wrought iron is made anymore. What passes for "wrought iron" these days is just mild steel, which rusts. Wrought iron has kind of a fibrous texture and has a visual grain to it. When fittings made from wrought iron are etched with acid the grain becomes very prominent and is visually appealing. Also because of the slag or glass content in the iron, and low carbon from the manufacturing process, it is very weather and rust resistant. It can still be found through salvage yards, ebay or some knife supply places. Aldo the NJ steel baron has old wrought iron too.
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Very cool! My great-grandfather's farm has a bunch of rusted metal all over the place. He would leave a broken plow in the middle of the field and never throw anything away. What kind of things would i look for if I were walking around?
He has old carts with trees growing through them, it's crazy
 
I think items like plow blades and wagon wheel "tires" (the metal band that wraps around the wheel) should be good for knife blades. Don't know which items to look for specifically that might be wrought iron. As you probably already know, wrought iron will not make a good knife blade. Post some pictures of metal objects in the yard you're curious about and someone here should have a good idea if it has a use.
 
That's a good idea. I think some of the old tillers probably had some spring steel, but i don't forge... yet and I only use known steel. I just think it would be cool to have some of this stuff on standby for when I do decide to forge.
I'll take some tools out in the fields and try to get some pictures of the stuff next time I'm up there. From the looks of some the stuff online I would have to bend or cut it to reveal the grain.
 
Wrought is also used as a starting point for "shear steel" or "blister steel" (google 'em), for folks interested in older or more primitive forging techniques which seems to be getting some attention these days. Wrought can be both carburized and phosphorized, which will give different appearances when etched. I helped Phil Baldwin with a demo at Western States last spring where we forged a billet of C and P layers and drew it into a primitive spear. That stuff really doesn't want to move under a hammer... (he says after swinging a sledge at it for 3 days of relatively low temp forging) cool stuff though. I've got some leftovers scraps from the demo that I need to get around to hammering on...
 
Don't forget you can make some sweet san mai with it! :thumbup: Especially if you add a layer of pure nickel inbetween. :cool:

Wrought%20Iron%20amp%20Nickel%20san%20mai_zps6ptuoed9.jpg


~Paul
My YT Channel Lsubslimed
 
is there a way to identify genuine old wrought iron by eye ? you said mild steel rusts, so i assume wrought doesn't. is the grain visible on non-etched pieces? thanks.
 
To set one fallacy straight, wrought iron rusts...it just rusts differently.

The silica inclusions and fibers in the WI make it naturally corrosion resistant. When the air and moisture do finally affect it, it forms a brown rust in a fairly smooth layer and this protects it from further corrosion. The "grain" of the fibers and silica stringers also may show a direction to the rust pattern. Regular low carbon steel rusts in spots and in a more red/orange color. The rust builds up in piles of scaly crud and eventually turns brown/black.

A close look at the surface of old WI may or may not show a grainy appearance. The definitive test is to cut part way through a piece and bend it. Plain steel will just break off along the grain boundaries and have a sandy look to the break. WI will break in strands and fibers. It reminds one of breaking a branch of wood that was half sawn through.




FYI, the silica fibers in WI are iron silicate and are formed in the metal by the production method. These are vitreous slag inclusions, often finer than a hair. Hundreds of thousands of these fibers fill every square inch of the metal. This gives it both strength and corrosion resistance, which is why it was used as a construction material for ships, bridges, building frames, and ornamental iron work. They reinforce the iron just like fiberglass/carbon fibers reinforce modern car components and resin/plastic products. A second advantage is that the silica acts as a flux in welding, and WI welds very well and easily. This makes san-mai in knifemaking a really good use of it.
 
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