February 23, 20206 yr Hey guys, I etched this piece of what I think is wrought iron in ferric chloride (30%) for 3h. The grain is not that spectacular but this is still wrought iron isnt it? Its gonna be used as a crossguard for a knife. Thanks Tim
February 23, 20206 yr It looks like it to me. The way I always tell is by knicking and then bending it. You should be able to see the grain easily. What you have looks like WI to me but there's a lot of variation in the quality of WI so hopefully someone with more experience than I have will chime in to either confirm what I think or tell you I'm wrong. Pnut
February 23, 20206 yr Author Thanks pnut! I broke a piece of the bar off before and saw the WI grain. But after the etch I wasnt that sure anymore.
February 23, 20206 yr Here's a piece of WI off an old wagon. The striations/grain on your piece looks the same as this. Mother Nature etched this one...
February 24, 20206 yr Real Wrought Iron was sold in at least 5 grades; from horribly coarse to extremely fine. For some reason knifemakers tend to like the coarser grades for fittings; I guess because they show the grain structure more. That's real WI but not the lowest grade or two.
February 24, 20206 yr Author Thanks Thomas and arkie! This forum is just great! So much knowledge Tim
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