wrought iron

M

Mdknifemaker

Joined
Feb 4, 2015
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16
I have three questions.
1. Can you cast wrought iron?

2. were can I get wrought iron barstock?

3. does all wrought iron have an interesting pattern when etched?

thx
 
no you cant cast wrought iron, then it is cast iron.

bar stock is hard to find, but Aldo at New Jersey steel Baron sells links of chain that are wrought and can be forged out. Tell him Ben from Greenberg Woods sent you

yes, all wrought iron has the pattern when etched
 
You could melt wrought iron and cast it, which would remove it's characteristic slaggy nature. One could refer to that as puddling- it creates a pure iron without the carbon content of "cast iron." One reason that cast iron normally has above 3% carbon is that the carbon lowers the melting point of the iron considerably, allowing casting at lower temps, saving fuel etc.

Wrought iron varies in slag content. Some is very fine and will show a subtle pattern when etched, and some is even too coarse and does not even need an etch for the porosity and slag content to be apparent. Somewhere in the middle ranges is good for knives. You'd have to try a given piece or find out from a reliable source what to expect from it.
 
When I was learning about iron and steel, wrought iron just meant iron with less carbon than would be required to call it steel. You could cast a material with 0.95% carbon but that doesn't make it cast iron. Pure a-ferrite would fit the definition of wrought iron as I understood it.
 
I think that the term "wrought" refers to making the iron by mechanical means, i.e. hammering from a bloom. So, "wrought iron" would be foremost pure or nearly pure iron, and secondly "wrought" or produced by hammering. A given puddled iron could be as pure as another wrought iron but have been produced by another method, thus not truly being "wrought."
It is true that in the nomenclature of common ferrous alloys, the metallurgy, manufacture of, and common name of an alloy may dovetail well, but it's not necessarily ironclad.
Today though, it does seem as though the term "wrought" encompasses nearly all iron alloys with less carbon than mild steel, "commercially pure" being an exception.

The history of iron is fascinating- it used to be a much more dynamic field, full of mystery and regional peculiarities. I always recall Vannoccio Biringuccio referring to a certain iron ore as being "wild and sour." Intriguing to think of a time when vocabulary such as that was used to describe iron! A thing so commonplace as to be beneath the attention of most, these days.
 
Well, it did happen. I saw it happening, and I let it...
We don't have to acknowledge it any further.
 
2. were can I get wrought iron barstock?



A seller called "Kalimalena" was unloading some old wrought iron bar stock a while back. All those pieces sold but I'm sure he kept a pile for his own use. Send him a PM. He may let some more go. If he doesn't have any more he can let go, you can still get the chain from Aldo.
 
Hundred year old amchor chains is the "good stuff".
The propaganda says when you laminate that into a blade because it has certain impurities in it it helps clean the pores of the sharpening stones and keeps them cutting the cutting edge steel longer.

However . . . I have been told that is just what they tell the marks. So go wreck diving if you want some iron, that's my advice.

:)
 
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