Hi Anne,
Not a dumb question at all.
Depending on the age and manufacture of the tool, it could be both. The edge of the knife is steel by default, but the body of the blade could be iron, or at least a different grade of steel. Typically the cutting edge of such tools is steel/higher grade than the rest, or it would not hold up to the tasks it is designed for. Sometimes you can tell by inspecting the cutting edge for color/hardness differentiation.
You are probably safe referring to it as steel.
Mark Janzen
Registrar/Collections Manager
Ulrich Museum of Art
Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection
316-978-5850
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Anne Lane
Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2007 3:21 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Metal ID Question
This may actually be a really dumb question, but I'll ask it anyway. How do you tell iron from steel? I have a drawknife, date unknown, obviously handforged, stamped with an illegible maker's mark, blade made of ferrous metal. I don't know how to tell whether it is iron or steel. Often you can tell just from the context, but I don't always have that. Must I spend the rest of my career typing out the words "ferrous metal" when a four- or five-letter word would suffice?
Thanks,
Anne T. Lane
Anne T. Lane
Collections Manager
704.568.1774 x110 phone
704.566.1817 fax
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