The Armour Archive

....damn.

Real Wrought Iron Company

shipping useful amounts would suck...

I wonder if a larger order would spread out shipping costs
or just increase them.....?

If you are looking for wrought iron find a scrap yard or whatever you call them over the pond?

My supply came from an old factory that was clearing a workspace, old sliding doors etc, old bridges being rebuilt are a good source, but it is very thick.

Don't know what you want it for but would not recommend it for armour it is more suited to being kept in whatever form you get it in my experience, though I only have what I have but if you talk to the guys you listed they will explain all that.

My blacksmithing tutor did not like it full stop, though it is good for high heat applications, it does sometimes split when doing fine work.

Charcoal iron is best I am told also it is authentic, whereas wrought iron is generally relatively modern, but most people call all old iron, wrought iron!

And it is damned expensive which doesn't matter if the government is paying for conservation work, but a breastplate is going to be around $160 plus shipping just for the metal!

There are some people in the states who make charcoal iron, you could even give it a go yourself if you have the time?

Baron, cool, thank you for the info. I would like to try forging a hat from the "charcoal made steel" The price is not low, but the fun has to be big with it!

Jiri

No, Jiri, no fun to be had with that stuff. It was all I could find for a client (struck out in the salvage yards; they usually won't let a private person walk through the yard, as these days they only exist to ship the stuff to China), and it has been one of the worst working experiences of my life. And that's saying something! It is strictly architectural grade, made to show delamination and rough surface texture at a distance, so it is just about to fall apart. It has a grain as strong as wood, due to being rolled out, so rolling an edge with the grain is a lunatic's nightmare. Raising is right out. Great for the distressed look for art projects, though!

James, thank you very much for your advice, very apreciated. I was looking forward to try but from what you write I can probably imagine where the problem is. So, I will have to wait untill some better material is around.

all the best

Jiri