iron ignot?

eftihis · 18th July 2007, 02:13 PM

Hi! I bought this small metal ball from an antique shop in Chania, the owner inisted this was a ball from a small cannon.
The ball is very small, in one photo is near a bichaq to show the size.
But the ball is not round at all, and it was made this way!
Could it be a sort of "iron ignot" from the 19th century or earlier? I have seen "wootz iron" ignots of this size, but more round. Any ideas?

Jens Nordlunde · 18th July 2007, 03:37 PM

You may find the answer here, "Wootz ingots, where do they all come from?".

Flavio · 18th July 2007, 03:41 PM

Hey Jens, seems an X-file

Ian · 18th July 2007, 03:54 PM

The file Jens referred to is here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1410

Jens Nordlunde · 18th July 2007, 04:19 PM

Flavio, it almost is, but not quite

.

Ian, thank you for helping me, for some reason or other, I could not copy the link, and so I gave the thread name instead

.

Eftihis, I am no expert on ingots, to me it looks more like a mill ball, but I think those who know the difference should tell you. There is, however, one thing you can do, and that is to grind a bit of the surface away and try to etch the raw metal. This would give you an indication, as I understand it, but only an indication – good luck

.

Mark · 18th July 2007, 04:21 PM

It looks like an ingot to me. They can be mixed up with milling balls, which are used to crush ore, but I think those are round.

Ann Feuerbach or Ric Furrer are the authorities on this stuff. Paging Drs. Feuerbach & Furrer ...

Jens Nordlunde · 18th July 2007, 04:34 PM

I may be wrong, but i think it was Jeff Pringle who pointed us in the direction of the mill balls.

18th July 2007, 02:13 PM	#1
eftihis Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Chania Crete Greece Posts: 511	iron ignot? Hi! I bought this small metal ball from an antique shop in Chania, the owner inisted this was a ball from a small cannon. The ball is very small, in one photo is near a bichaq to show the size. But the ball is not round at all, and it was made this way! Could it be a sort of "iron ignot" from the 19th century or earlier? I have seen "wootz iron" ignots of this size, but more round. Any ideas? Attached Images

18th July 2007, 03:54 PM	#4
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,361	Old file ... The file Jens referred to is here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1410

18th July 2007, 04:19 PM	#5
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	Flavio, it almost is, but not quite. Ian, thank you for helping me, for some reason or other, I could not copy the link, and so I gave the thread name instead. Eftihis, I am no expert on ingots, to me it looks more like a mill ball, but I think those who know the difference should tell you. There is, however, one thing you can do, and that is to grind a bit of the surface away and try to etch the raw metal. This would give you an indication, as I understand it, but only an indication – good luck.

18th July 2007, 03:37 PM	#2
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	You may find the answer here, "Wootz ingots, where do they all come from?".

18th July 2007, 03:41 PM	#3
Flavio Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Italia Posts: 1,243	Hey Jens, seems an X-file

18th July 2007, 04:21 PM	#6
Mark Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 987	It looks like an ingot to me. They can be mixed up with milling balls, which are used to crush ore, but I think those are round. Ann Feuerbach or Ric Furrer are the authorities on this stuff. Paging Drs. Feuerbach & Furrer ...

18th July 2007, 04:34 PM	#7
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	I may be wrong, but i think it was Jeff Pringle who pointed us in the direction of the mill balls.