What is Wrought Iron?

Wrought iron is the primary material of the blacksmith. It is produced by refining and rolling and re-heating the first iron that comes out of the blast furnace, so as to reduce the carbon and to remove most of the impurities. The resulting iron that has been rolled to produce strips has a fibrous nature that makes it particularly suitable for shaping by hammering. The softness of the material when hot led to an ease of hand working, giving rise to a great and practical art form - Wrought Ironwork. Why use Wrought Iron? It is the most tough, ductile, and malleable form of iron. It also has a greater resistance to corrosion than most other types of iron. The first light rusting forms a protective film that reduces further corrosion. It resists corrosion far better than modern steel as is proven by the survival of centuries-old wrought ironwork. Steel What is steel made from? Steel is a metal alloy whose major component is iron, with higher carbon content than wrought iron. Steel is ...  more

Wrought iron is one kind of steel containing 1.1% of carbon. Wrought means any metal that is hammered, twisted or even bent into shape. Basically the metal is forged and formed into the desired form. This differs from cast aluminum, in that the casting process is not utilized. This is also known as hot forged metal as the metal is heated until it reaches its red-hot state.  more

Wrought iron is a confusing term that refers to both a type of metal and a process of formation. More traditionally, wrought iron is a variety of iron, with additives that make it twistable with a low corrosion rate. However, manufacture of this type of iron has been limited to Europe since 1969, because it is very expensive to make and fell out of fashion. More likely, when someone says "wrought iron," they refer to a forged (not truly wrought) iron that resembles the former in appearance, but is made out of steel. This decorative iron creates reproductions for patio furniture, window screens, and custom fencing. Authentic wrought iron differs from steel in that it is impregnated with tiny slivers of iron silicate known as "slag." When distributed as fibers, the slag changes the chemical properties of the iron enough to create a new and beneficial metal. We value wrought iron for strength under tensile pressure, resistance to corrosion, malleability, and how well it keeps a finish. ...  more

Wrought Iron The word wrought helps to define exactly what this material is. Wrought means any metal that is hammered, twisted or even bent into shape. Basically the metal is forged and formed into the desired form. This differs from cast aluminum, in that the casting process is not utilized. Instead of pouring a molten metal into a cast, the iron is heated to the point where it becomes soft, and malleable. This is also known as hot forged metal as the metal is heated until it reaches its red-hot state.

as published in Traditional Homes, July/Aug. 1997 The term wrought iron is greatly abused in today s commercial marketplace, as it is applied to everything from bent steel wire to cast aluminum. Technically, the term should be applied only to iron that has been worked white hot; physical force (such as the smith s hammer) is used to cause the metal to flow and be reshaped into the desired form. Much work that is termed wrought iron is simply bent work, that is, commercially available mild-steel bars, tubing, or strips that have been cut, heated, and bent -- or sometimes even worked cold. Separate elements are then joined via arc welding or mechanical fasteners. The purist metalsmith rejects the term wrought iron for this bent work because it has not received the hammering, stretching, twisting, and piercing that a top-grade piece of wrought iron is subjected to. And rather than arc welding, the elite metalsmith will go to the trouble of forge welding -- joining two pieces by heating ...  more

Wrought iron is the forging process used to create the finished product.  more