Antique Iron and Steel 1

Iron and Steel

Iron can be divided into two types: with little carbon content it becomes malleable and is steel or wrought-iron, and with more than the minimum of carbon remaining in its composition it is cast-iron and inclined to be brittle. Probably the greatest use of the metal in the past was in the making of armour and arms. Armour was used both for protection in battle and in jousting, and for ceremonial purposes. In the first instances it was designed not only to resist blows from lances and cudgels but to deflect them and upset the opponent's balance. Ceremonial equipment on the other hand, displayed the art of the armourer to the best advantage and exhibited his prowess at ornamenting a suit in the most striking manner. Fine armour of either type is now extremely rare outside museums, and even if it was available very few collectors have space in which to display it adequately. Embellishment takes the form of engraving, gilding, raised pat­terns, and damascening: inlay in gold and silver.

Swords and other hand weapons were often highly decorated; early ones of fine quality are rare, but seventeenth- and eighteenth-century examples can be found.

Firearms have received a great amount of study in the last few years, and the value of a good pistol has risen enormously. The subject is a very wide one and cannot be dealt with briefly. Mechanisms for firing the charge of gunpowder and ejecting the missile can be divided into recognizable types that make dating possible, but only within wide limits. From the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries the powder was ignited by means of a wheel-lock, a hardened toothed wheel which attempted to strike sparks from a piece of flint; comparable to a cigarette-lighter. Its successor, introduced early in the seventeenth century, was the flint-lock, in which a piece of flint gripped in steel jaws was sprung down on to the powder and ignited it as it struck the steel powder-pan. This method endured until early in the nineteenth century, when a small cap, containing chemicals that detonated on being hit, known as a percussion cap, was invented. The cap was placed near the powder, and when the trigger was pressed the hammer fell and the gunpowder was exploded by the cap.

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The Flint Lock

This method endured until early in the nineteenth century, when a small cap, containing chemicals that detonated on being hit, known as a percussion cap, was invented. The cap was placed near the powder, and when the trigger was pressed the hammer fell and the gunpowder was exploded by the cap.