Fantasy tropes: fear of cold iron. A prejudice from Africa?

[fearn]

Originally Posted by kisak

Wouldn't any hardening of cold worked iron/steel be far more likely to be due to work hardening than accidental adding of carbon?

(Sigh) I knew I should have dug out that reference from the metallurgist. I'll post it tomorrow.

As far as I know, you're right and wrong. If you turn a sword into a plowshare and back into a sword, the metal is going to be heating over a high-carbon fire quite a lot. Each time (as I understand it) it absorbs carbon. I'm not sure whether it's absorbing carbon from carbon dioxide in the air, from soot, or from the coals. In any case, steel is an intermediate between pure iron and cast iron, and too much carbon is as bad as too little, if you want a hard, tough edge.

Reforge something often enough, and the metal (supposedly) is relatively useless for a sword or knife.

Work hardening does happen, but it's a different phenomenon.

Best,

F

[G. McCormack]

If anything steels will lose carbon from being worked in the forge.

To get iron to pick up carbon (carburise) you generally need the iron surrounded by carbon in a pretty airtight spot, under heat for time.


In many African cultures the blacksmith was seen as separate from the community- he who could smelt dirt into a tool or weapon- this magic- best to not get too close to.

[Emanuel]

Here's a tidbit from "Aspects of the Use of Copper in Pre-Colonial West Africa"
Eugenia W. Herbert, The Journal of African History, Vol. 14, No. 2. (1973), pp. 179-194

"...the Tuareg and Moors consider iron an impure metal, and neutralize it by encrusting copper and brass on [tools]."

Among the Touareg, blacksmiths form a separate cast with their own language. We've discussed some of this here. Still no concrete understanding why iron is perceived this way, but likely it is due to its transmutation from ore to metal and its propensity to rust. The smelting process itself is also quite dirty.
Also interesting is the use of copper as a magical ward, also discussed in the above thread.

With the Maasai it's somewhat different. IIRC, there is a religious component associated with iron working and a specific deity. Blacksmith huts are seen as hallow ground and are to be kept neutral and as sanctuaries during conflict.

Emanuel

[fearn]

Originally Posted by G. McCormack

If anything steels will lose carbon from being worked in the forge.

To get iron to pick up carbon (carburise) you generally need the iron surrounded by carbon in a pretty airtight spot, under heat for time.

Mmm. Crow. Yummy.

You're right, of course. But the original idea about cold steel still, I think, stands: the more it's reworked, the worse it is as a weapon.

As for why iron might be impure, I'd suggest looking at it historically. The first form of iron humans used was ocher, which is various forms of iron oxide, aka rust in mineral form

That's been used as a pigment and sacred substance for well over 50,000 years. The red mineral=symbolic blood thing didn't escape anyone, and since red blood does effectively contain oxidized iron, it's not entirely symbolic.

Worked, metallic iron is reduced (lost it's oxygen), and it's gray, the color of ashes and death. Reduced gray iron also cuts much better than red iron, so not only is it symbolic of death and ashes, it's also much more dangerous when sharp.

That's my diagnosis of iron symbolism, off the top of my head. The true irony is, of course, that iron is much more necessary for life than copper is, so having copper-based alloys as symbols of life is a case where composition and symbolism are at odds.

Best,

F