I Am Ironman…

Iron – it is far more than that thing in the back of the wardrobe that you occasionally use to straighten your clothes! (or that you never use to straighten your clothes, if you are like some that I know :-). You’ve probably also noticed that it is one of the more common metals for making awesome traditional door hardware, and has been for centuries. It is prized for its strength and variety of applications, and also because it is so plentiful. So, if you have had the good taste to choose a piece of iron door furniture from us, here’s a little about the namesake of the ironman…

Iron is one of the most abundant metals in the universe – the cryptic title refers to the fact that iron is the heaviest metal in the (known) universe that do not require red giants or supernovas for formation … only stellar nucleosynthesis. Only! Basically, iron can be created by much more common stars (the universe’s natural ‘forge’) than other, heavier metals. The middle of the Earth is also full of the stuff – it is just a lot runnier, and harder to keep in a lovely artistic doorknob type shape.

You probably know quite a bit about iron already – or you’ll remember when I mention these common facts! Iron is the most common magnetic element – those little notes on your fridge reminding you about who has football training tonight and what is required at the supermarket are held on by little magnetized pieces of iron. Most other metals are not magnetic … thankfully , otherwise the zips and buttons on our jeans may be randomly flying towards stranger’s zips in the street … cars would crash unavoidably … fillings would fly out of your mouth. What an amusing world it might be, actually!

You probably also know that iron oxidizes readily when exposed to the elements – especially where water and any more conductive compound is present, like salt. How do you know this? Because your Dad told you not to leave his tools out in the yard after you’d been fixing your bike, because they would rust! Rust is iron oxide, and occurs much more easily in areas close to the ocean, where there is more dissolved salt in the atmosphere. If you have iron hardware in a coastal area, then, it is a good idea to lacquer it before installing it, or go for a lacquered version of your favourite product.

You likely won’t be buying pure iron hardware though – your beautiful traditional door furniture will likely be of either cast iron or wrought iron. There is also a large malleable iron range.

If you have bought a cast iron piece, your door furniture is in good historical company. This variant of iron was first created in China, and used for figurines and also weapons. Cannons and shot were another popular cast iron object – the metal is strong under compression but not as strong under tension. The round shape, therefore, makes any stress on the iron compression stress. If that makes no sense, just know that you’d have to hit your door knob with something much larger than anything in your house to break it! Wagon wheels were also made of cast iron quite frequently.

Wrought iron is quite pure iron – it has very little carbon, which is the element that makes iron into steel, but also includes some slag. No, the ironmonger doesn’t stand there and spit into the furnace – imagine that for a job! Slag is basically a waste product in the iron refining process – a mixture of other elemental metals. However, like impurities in stones, the veins in marble or the glassy fractures in quartz or sodalite, the slag in wrought iron is what gives it character. It is much more evenly distributed than impurities in stones, as usually it is mixed up in a giant cake mixer, rather than just by slow old Mother Nature. The even distribution gives wrought iron a grain like wood, and the grain is especially evident when the metal is bent. Hence the curlicues, twists, turns and circles of wrought iron work.

If you are lucky enough to find true wrought iron pieces (ahem! Check the products section of the site, you lucky things – you have a much more true traditional piece. Most ironwork on newer buildings nowadays is made of mild steel – easier and more cost effective to commercially produce. However, true wrought iron is much more corrosion resistant than mild steel, so better for outdoor use. Ironically (no pun intended), this is where most mild steel is intended for use. It has some of the look of wrought iron, but of course, you’ll know the difference…

Malleable iron is a truly traditional material … so traditional that it is hardly used at all anymore. It is known as the oldest member of the family of nodular irons – especially flexible varieties of iron. Hand tools, brackets and washers, farm equipment and mining hardware is still made of malleable iron. As well as a great selection of traditional hardware!

There you have the door knob-related information on the namesake of one of Black Sabbath’s most popular ditties … the grandmother of ‘irony’ … and the muscle-material of all the fit bronzed ‘ironmen and women’!

Photo credits: Shadow portrait in iron by zen Sutherland Iron tree by Ali Karagöz