Determining charcoal or puddle iron pieces part 1.MOV
Channel: Fargbollen
Date: 2011-06-15

I got some scrap metal from an old building and am now making the first cursory look if any of this could be charcoal iron suitable for use in historical reconstruction pieces.
The pieces could be any or all of these three: Mild steel, puddle iron or charcoal iron. Only the last type is comparable to medieval or viking age wrought iron so it's important to sort them out. There are some telltales. Iron usually shows layers in a bend break while milkd steel doesn't, puddle iron gives off a distinct red spark during grindinig, while charcoal iron doesn't. Usually pieces of older style sharp corners, uneven texture and only thick diameter are good candidates for testing if it's charcoal iron.  Anyway, for now I can only see that some parts are obviously made from iron, not what type.