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Monday, June 7, 2010

IRON - CONVENTIONAL AND CHARCOAL TYPE


Dear friends,

Today, I spotted my charcoal iron which has been 
displayed at one of the dining corner for many years. 
This iron has served my family for more than two 
decades before my mother retired it and kept it for 
many years before she passed it to me for custody 
and safekeeping. 







Here, I rather let the photos do the talking. 

Notice the hinged lid and the air holes to allow the 
charcoal to keep smoldering. These are sometimes 
called ironing boxes, or charcoal box irons, and may
come with their own stand. However, in my case I 
only have the iron box and searching for its own 
stand (the iron ring and a piece of flat square hard
wood).

It is very much heavier compared to the electric 
iron. To add more colour to this article. we also 
extracted the history of ironing and some information 
on box and charcoal iron for your reading pleasure.

History of ironing




























No-one can say exactly when people 
started trying to press cloth smoothly, 
but we know that the Chinese were 
using hot metal for ironing before 
anyone else.   Pans filled with hot 
coals were pressed over stretched 
cloth as illustrated in the drawing to 
the right. A thousand years ago this 
method was already well-established.
Meanwhile people in Northern Europe 
were using stones, glass and wood for 
smoothing. These continued to be use 
for "ironing" in some places into the 
mid-19th century, long after Western 
blacksmiths started to forge smoothing 
irons in the late Middle Ages.

Box irons, charcoal irons

If you make the base of your iron into a 
container you can put glowing coals inside
it and keep it hot a bit longer. This is a 
charcoal iron, and the photograph (right) 
shows one being used in India, where it's 
not unusual to have your ironing done by a 
"press wallah" at a stall with a brazier nearby. 
Notice the hinged lid and the air holes to 
allow the charcoal to keep smouldering. These 
are sometimes called ironing boxes, or charcoal 
box irons, and may come with their own stand.



































For centuries charcoal irons have been used 
in many different countries. When they have 
a funnel to keep smoky smells away from the
cloth, they may be called chimney irons. 
Antique charcoal irons are attractive to many 
collectors, while modern charcoal irons 
manufactured in Asia are also used in much of 
Africa. Some of these are sold to Westerners 
as reproductions or replica "antiques".

Some irons had shallower boxes and had fitted 
"slugs" or "heaters" - slabs of metal - which were 
heated in the fire and inserted into the base 
instead of charcoal. It was easier to keep the 
ironing surface spotlessly clean, away from the 
fuel, than with flatirons or charcoal irons. Brick 
inserts could be used for a longer-lasting, less 
intense heat. These are generally called box irons, 
although they used to be known as ironing boxes 
too.

Late 19th century iron designs experimented with 
heat-retaining fillings. Designs of this period 
became more and more ingenious and complicated, 
with   reversible bases, gas jets and other 
innovations. See some inventive US models here
By 1900 there were electric irons in use on both 
sides of the Atlantic.

Hope you find the above discussion of assistance 
to you. We are look forward to seeing you again.


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Your Chief Servant,

James Oh

Founder and Group CEO

Skype me at james.oh18

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