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Bloom Iron Sales Gallery Page

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Hints on Forging Bloom

Bloom Iron Sales

Home Grown, Organic, Free Range Iron Fresh from the Furnace!

I can provide bloom iron as raw material either as entire blooms or portions thereof. Look to the gallery page at left for pieces available for immediate purchase, or feel free to contact me for large or special orders.

Why use bloom iron?: The reasons are as various as the people who buy it, of course, but I think the most compelling reason is simple curiosity. Working this iron is a very different experience than working modern steels, and many folks just want to see what it's like. Generally speaking, this iron is much more ductile at forging temperatures, it's just plain fun to work. Museum and living history smiths also find a section of bloom helpful as an interpretive aid. Bladesmiths also seem to like it for it's high phosphorus content, as a component in pattern-welding.

For more using this iron, see the hints page at left.

Pricing:

Raw Bloom
$18.00 per lb, plus shipping.
My current "standard" bloom is about 22 to 26 lbs.I generally cut 'em into halves, quarters or eighths. This cutting consolidates them a bit, and makes them easier to reheat. The eighths generally end up around 2 or 3 lbs, and these are most popular, as they're easier to reheat and more affordable than a bigger chunk.

Anconies (Consolidated Blooms)
$24.00 per lb, plus shipping
An "ancony" is a partly wrought piece of bloom. It's a nice form to purchase the iron in, as you have both worked and raw iron to compare, if you've never worked bloom iron before. It also provides a convenient handle for purchase with tongs, if you're uncomfortable with juggling an odd shaped lump of iron about with pickup tongs. And finally, it's a nice shape that illustrates the connection between the raw bloom and bar, if you are using it it as an interpretive piece for museum display or public demonstration.

The higher price of the ancony reflects not just the additional labor, but the loss of weight of the bloom in its initial stages of consolidation.

I generally forge a piece of each bloom to ancony for a few forging tests that give me an idea of the character of the iron I've made, and you may see remnants of these twist tests at the end of your ancony.