Etched wrought iron

(5/09)

After the success of my Damasteel pieces, I got to wondering if similarly interesting effects could be had from wrought iron, which has a definite grain structure.

I got a bit of wrought iron bar from Chris Topp, AKA the Real Wrought Iron Company, who recycle old wrought iron into new bar:

I forged a bit of it down, disturbed one surface with a pattern of drill pecks, and forged it flat again:

Then etched it with ferric chloride. This is the drilled surface:

And this is the undrilled surface, which I think I prefer:

Here's an example of it done well, by someone who knows what they are doing: