Wrought iron has been used to describe the finished product that is made by a blacksmith. When you look at the language base for the term wrought iron, wrought is just a past tense version of work; so wrought iron literally means worked iron. Wrought iron’s production processes have changed greatly over the last 500 years, to the point where today’s wrought iron is not technically even iron. You can walk through history, and see how things have changed over the century.
Middle Ages and Wrought Iron
During the middle ages, wrought iron was the type of iron used throughout Europe. China at this time had cast iron, but that had not yet made its way over to the Europeans. Blacksmiths used the Bloomery process to melt iron ore, which caused the silicates, also known as slag, to melt out. This process also introduced carbon monoxide to the iron ore, and allowed the iron be shaped into blocks.
Industrial Revolution
During the industrial revolution, wrought iron was a hot commodity. Unfortunately, the processes that made the iron could accidentally cause an inferior product called pig iron. The difficulty was that exposing iron to high carbon monoxide levels, like the Bloomery method did, would create iron that was too brittle for use. The puddling process was invented to keep the fuel and iron separate, which effectively kept the iron from being contaminated with carbon monoxide.
Wrought Iron Today
Today, true wrought iron is not commercially made. Its processes are just not efficient enough, and the metallurgical features of steal are more applicable to today’s usage. While the old wrought iron railings in Chicago are likely made with true wrought iron, new installations are going to be made of steal. Steal is going to be less expensive, easy to form, and can be coated to prevent rusting making it a great material to create railings and fences from.
When you are looking for wrought iron railings in Chicago check out Top Line Fence. For more information visit their website: http://www.TopLineFence.com.
