John Moore had originally asked:
>>>First is a 1 3/4 inch wide tang-type chisel marked "Thos Firth
>>>and Sons" on one side and "Electro Boracic Steel" on the other.
>>>Any information on Firth and/or the mystical properties of
>>>electro boracic steel?
To which I'd responded, in part, with the following notice,
originally from May 1, 1839:
>
>> "WM. GREAVES AND SONS Are aware that in introducing to the
>>Public a new article, it is usual to say much in explanation of
>>its superiority - so much that the whole is often viewed with
>>distrust. In order to avoid this evil, W. G. & Sons deem it best
>>to say nothing either in explanation or praise of their ELECTRO
>>BORACIC EDGE TOOLS, Leaving the entire question of merits to be
>>decided by the Consumer."
Tony Blanks followed up with (in part):
>The last time the question of Boracic steel came up I spent half a >day in
>the catalogue of the State Library ... I discoverd two
>things: the first is that "borax" is and was added as a flux to
>steel melts to promote the development of a good slag crust and to
>assist in the removal of impurities. ...
>So: there are two choices:
>
>Either some borax or other Boron salts were added to the steel melt
>in the crucible (this smacks of a degree of witchcraft in steel
>making, so is quite possible), or,
>
>Electro-boracic steel was a piece of early advertising copy.
Tony's follow-up prodded me to further pursue this question.
Somewhat embarassedly, I have to acknowledge that I had previously
missed a bit of additional information in Ken Roberts' _Some 19th
Century English Wood Working Tools_. It would seem that Roberts and
Tony pretty much echo each other, when Roberts opines:
***************
"Actually the term 'Boracic Steel' was probably more adver-
tising propaganda than a metallurgical alloying accomplishment.**
It is possible that borax was used as a composite of the flux
during melting with sincere belief that an improvement in steel
quality resulted. ..."
**[footnote] K.C. Barraclough, Firth-Brown Ltd., Sheffield and
author of _Sheffield Steel_ had a plane iron with this imprint
analyzed for boron content and reported only a trace present,
insufficient to create an effect."
******************
[Seems we've come somewhat full circle. I hadn't realized, prior
to reading this footnote, that Barraclough had been formerly
associated with Firth Brown Ltd., subsidiary/successors to Thomas
Firth & Sons - makers of the chisel which John Moore initially
asked about.]
I note that Roberts and Barraclough both primarily focused on the
possibility of using boron as an "alloying" element while assessing
it's potential value. And, that is a possibility, as Boron had
been isolated/identified as an element in 1808. Though, strictly
speaking it's not a metal - one source referred to it as a
metalloid. On the other hand, as far as I can determine, its
potential usefulness in forming boron carbide (nearly as hard as
diamond) wasn't clearly understood until after 1900.
I'm wondering if the primary intended efficacy of borax was as a
refining flux in the crucible process - rather than as an alloying
agent. It was certainly widely used and thought to be efficacious
in forge welding. Possibly one of the resident metallurgists could
speak to this possibility and what, if any, bearing the findings of
traces of boron has on this question. [To my mind, drawing
conclusions based on one example is tricky at best.]
Certainly, refining of the crucible steel was an issue. Thomas
Firth & Sons' advertising copy refers to themselves as
"Manufacturers of Genuine Double Refined CAST STEEL." Another bit
of advertising copy?
But what about the "electro" portion of the term? In contrast to
Tony's musings about the public's fascination with electricity in
the 19th century, Roberts states:
"... The prefix 'electro' may have referred to the amber color
of the slag, but most certainly had no relation to electricity."
Maybe one of the metallurgists or a practicing blacksmith who has
done some forge welding can speak to the colour of the slag?
While Roberts is, in all likelihood, correct that this is not a
reference to the use of electricity as a power/heat source in the
melting/crucible process, I have now come to believe that it is a
reference to electricity in a slightly different sense.
Once I focused on the fact that electr(o) is the combining form
for "electric," I decided to look "electric" up on the Merriam-
Webster website. The entry (somewhat edited) is:
*****************
Main Entry: elec·tric
Function: adjective
Etymology: New Latin electricus produced from amber by friction,
electric, from Medieval Latin, of amber, from Latin electrum amber,
electrum, from Greek Elektron; akin to Greek ElektOr beaming sun
Date: 1675
****************
In other words, one of the characteristics of amber (as we call it
today) was the production of static electricity when rubbed with
fur. While the use of "electro" as a prefix could have been an
indirect reference to the colour of amber (the material's other
major characteristic), I think it much more likely that it was a
reference to what they believed was the efficacy of the flux
(borax) to draw out (attract) impurities and form a slag in
refining the steel.
People at that time were taken with the "magical" properties of
electricity. After all, Michael Faraday had demonstrated the
practicality of producing electricity with an electromagnet in 1831.
Now to "muddy" the waters a bit. At the last minute I remembered
my copy of an 1827 _Critical Pronouncing Dictionary_ by John Walker.
Being somewhat contemporaneous with this usage of electro, I
decided to see if it had anything:
"ELECTRE ... Amber; a mixed metal"
Being a "pronouncing" dictionary, this tome is a bit short, and
sometimes suspect, on definitions, and this entry is typical.
Rather provocative though?
Don McConnell
Knox County, Ohio
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