Wow! Sorry if I offended anyone. My comment about the "uselessness" of bog iron was more off the cuff than anything else. It was not a serious comment.
However, as to why bog iron was thought "useless" I have heard that it was an extremely difficult product to generate (and I may be incorrect in my understanding). Not only was it difficult to extract the material from the soils and stream beds, but it was also a material whose industry ransacked the area and environment. Bog iron was not like iron ore that could be mined. Bog iron had to be separated from the sands, and it was in this process that many impurities were introduced to the material. I had heard in the past that it was also more brittle than mined ore, and was prone to breakage due to these impurities. So, that is partly where the assertion of it being "useless" came from. Perhaps as a fireplace deflector or surround it would be a fine product, but for munitions and architectural supplies, it was inferior to a mined product.
Thanks to people who cited examples of surviving bog iron. I was curious about that. Next, however, I would be interested to see to what extent architectural materials were made from bog iron, and how they stood the test of time.
Scott
However, as to why bog iron was thought "useless" I have heard that it was an extremely difficult product to generate (and I may be incorrect in my understanding). Not only was it difficult to extract the material from the soils and stream beds, but it was also a material whose industry ransacked the area and environment. Bog iron was not like iron ore that could be mined. Bog iron had to be separated from the sands, and it was in this process that many impurities were introduced to the material. I had heard in the past that it was also more brittle than mined ore, and was prone to breakage due to these impurities. So, that is partly where the assertion of it being "useless" came from. Perhaps as a fireplace deflector or surround it would be a fine product, but for munitions and architectural supplies, it was inferior to a mined product.
Thanks to people who cited examples of surviving bog iron. I was curious about that. Next, however, I would be interested to see to what extent architectural materials were made from bog iron, and how they stood the test of time.
Scott
