working w/wrought iron

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PaMtnBkr

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Dec 31, 2009
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I have a nice chunk of wrought iron that I found at an old mine/railroad/barge canal/etc. From everything I can determine it is wrought iron. The way it was pitted, the way it broke when I cut a chunk down and the striations in the material when I sanded and etched a piece of it. My question is, I want to use some for a guard and pommel on a dagger I am making. Is there anything I need to keep in mind when working with it? Finish, handling, etching, etc? Thank you! DonO
 
If you're going to forge it, you almost can't forge it hot enough.
Where a blade steel would be ruined by taking it to a sparkling heat, that's just the upper end for wrought.
So much for blacksmithing, I'll defer to the big kids for fit/finish info :)
 
The more you forge it, the less of that desirable striated look you will get as you break down those occlusions. As for too much heat, it supposedly will crumble, but unlike say O1, I have been told that you can mash it back together to some degree.
 
You will find that it's often pretty included.
I used it for a few hilt pieces many years ago.
I opted for a strong etch in Ferric Chloride to being out these characteristics rather than try to hide them. Besides, if you want smooth and perfect, use steel.
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For knife hardware uses, it is simplest to shape it with saws, files, and grinders. Once at the final shape, sand to 400 grit. Etch in FC to bring out the "character'.
 
Cutting it on the diagonal and working to shape gives you a different look than using it square on.
 
I have done a few knives with wrought guards and buttcaps and people really like the way that stuff turns out. Once I get it finished and etched in FeCl, I hit is with a little bit of Brownell's Super Blue cold blue paste to darken it a bit and then rinse of the paste "card" it lightly with some OOOO steel wool. I do the same "double finish" with FeCl and Super Blue on 1018 and it gives me kind of a French gray look.
 
A wrought iron cap, forged down from a 1/2" thk wagon rim, shaped to match stag,
etched, and hand buffed...

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I take mine to a nicely finished 800 grit, etch 3-4 times for 15 minutes each, clean off oxides between etches, and then after neutralizing final etch, rub vigorously with 0000 wool:
(Look at the stag guard and it's pretty cool hen you twist it, too.)








 
Thanks group! Lots of great ideas! This stuff looks awesome! I think it'll look nice on my dagger!
 
lovely stuff with potential for lots of character!

if you have a forge (preferably charcoal^__^), a traditional japanese way to bring out the tekkotsu "iron ribs", simulating a very old surface, is to run the forge hot and keep the piece at a high orange-yellow heat with lots of oxygen, pulling it out every few seconds to wire brush and quickly put back in...as each area scales away at different rates due to carbon and slag content, the inner structure comes into strong relief...when finished brush to keep clean as it cools to black and then use as is or add a rust patinated or heat blued final surface...

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David Stifle said:
keep in mind it rusts if you look at it wrong. For that reason, I don't use it anymore.
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I built my first take-down knife in the summer of '99 with a wrought guard and butt cap. It travels with me just about everywhere and I've never done anything out of the ordinary to protect it.
it lays on the bench in the work shop.
I carry it to knife shows and hammer-ins for show-and-tell.
Looks like the day I made it without one spec of rust.
And that's a fact.
 
There are so many different ways to work wrought iron and I find it a very distinct look.

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Karl B. Andersen said:
I built my first take-down knife in the summer of '99 with a wrought guard and butt cap. It travels with me just about everywhere and I've never done anything out of the ordinary to protect it.
it lays on the bench in the work shop.
I carry it to knife shows and hammer-ins for show-and-tell.
Looks like the day I made it without one spec of rust.
And that's a fact.
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And I've seen it rust from rain, even after drying. I've seen it rust from getting blood on it, even after being cleaned. That's a fact too. It doesn't apply if the knife is kept indoors, but elements such as humidity, mud, blood, snow or rain can and does cause wrought to rust, sometimes almost overnight.
 
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Many, many wrought iron railings, gates, and other fabrications have lasted decades in the states and centuries overseas without rusting to dust. The low carbon/high slag or glass content makes the old wrought iron pretty weather proof. Some of the more recently made WI or mild steel sold as "wrought iron" will rust.
 
I LOVE wrought iron! :thumbup: Don't be afraid to etch it deep if you want to achieve a "gnarly" look. I was messing around a while back and left this small san mai (wrought iron/L6/wrought iron) kiridashi in ferric chloride overnight.. ok I kinda forgot about it, but it was a "happy little accident" as Bob Ross would say! :D But I really liked the way it turned out. I just went over it with a wire wheel afterwards, which got it nice and shiny. And yes, if/when you do decide to forge it, as was said above, forge it at pretty much welding temps, and don't hit it too hard or try to forge it in a hurry or it might start comming apart on ya.





~Paul
My YT Channel Lsubslimed
 
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i4Marc said:
Many, many wrought iron railings, gates, and other fabrications have lasted decades in the states and centuries overseas without rusting to dust. The low carbon/high slag or glass content makes the old wrought iron pretty weather proof. Some of the more recently made WI or mild steel sold as "wrought iron" will rust.
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More than likely because it's painted. I got some wrought five or six years ago when an old silo was being torn down, it was supposedly 100 years old. They stuff I got was deeply rusted, I had to take an angle grinder to it to find the steel. And, this was 100 year old wrought.
 
David Stifle said:
The stuff I got was deeply rusted, I had to take an angle grinder to it to find the steel. And, this was 100 year old wrought.
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Something different about your experience with wrought and mine.
I've been using it extensively for over a decade. The stuff I have was made in 1903 - I have about a 1/2 ton. It spent its entire life on a river through all seasons of exposure.
I can literally rub the surface rust off with my thumb and find shiny iron below. The rust has no depth whatsoever.
I'm an avid deer hunter and have been for 45 years. I hunt, I fish I camp and do everything with a knife with wrought hardware.
Any time there's even a slightest bit or dot of rust, it cleans off easily with some 0000 and a drop of oil.
The reason it was used in many cases in certain types of structures was because of its ability to RESIST rust.
There were many grades of wrought.

And when it comes to gates and railings and that sort of thing, most are simply mild steel and called "wrought" because of their design - not the material.
 
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