Russia iron or Russian iron refers to a type of sheet
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
produced in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
during the 19th and early 20th century.
This iron sheeting had a smooth, glossy black surface coating, sometimes greenish-tinged, which did not flake upon bending and made the sheets highly resistant to
rust
Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH ...
ing. As well as its corrosion resistance, the finish would also withstand high heat; these two properties accounted for most of its uses. Kodak used it around 1906 for the manufacture of their Photographic Enlargers. These properties led to it being the standard for manufacturing
gold pan
Gold panning, or simply ''panning'', is a form of placer mining and traditional mining that extracts gold from a placer deposit using a pan. The process is one of the simplest ways to extract gold, and is popular with geology enthusiasts especia ...
s at the turn of the 20th century.
Uses
This sheet-iron was used in Russia for stove flues and for roofing, among other tasks. Exported in quantity to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, it was notably used there for the cladding of
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central h ...
s, where it found favor because paints of the time could not withstand the heat to which boiler cladding was subjected; its fine decorative finish went well with the brightly painted locomotives of the time.
Its heat-resistant finish also brought it use to clad stoves, ovens, heating pipes and other similar tasks,
and in the manufacture of baking pans and sheets.
Manufacturing process
The manufacturing process is complex but basically depends upon the creation of an
oxide
An oxide () is a chemical compound that contains at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion of oxygen, an O2– (molecular) ion. with oxygen in the oxidation state of −2. Most of the E ...
coating.
Imitation Russia iron
Much effort was expended on attempting to duplicate Russia iron in the United States, with varying degrees of success. Henry Stafford Osborn, in his text ''The Metallurgy of Iron and Steel'' (1869), describes a process used successfully which is close to descriptions of the Russian method.
Replacement
The development of high-temperature paints and the trend towards black-painted locomotives combined to reduce the demand for Russia iron by 1900, and little if any was imported after the beginning of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
References
{{Reflist
Iron