Read an old book that said blacksmiths used to use urine to quench steel

Found a beat up copy of 'The Village Blacksmith' from 1902 at a yard sale. It had a whole section on how smiths would keep a barrel of stale urine, usually from the local pub, for quenching tools. The ammonia in it was supposed to make the steel harder. I tried it once on a small punch just to see, and honestly, the smell was awful. Has anyone else ever come across this or other weird old quenchants?

3 comments

3 Comments

elizabeth_lee1mo ago

My grandfather's old workshop manual from the 1940s mentioned the same trick. He said the ammonia could help prevent soft spots, but he refused to do it because the stench would soak into everything. I can only imagine the smell of a hot tool hitting that barrel behind the pub. It makes our modern concerns about shop ventilation seem pretty tame. That punch you made must have been a real conversation stopper.

vera7371mo ago

Honestly that ammonia trick makes you wonder about all the old trade secrets lost to basic safety rules. Tbh the real wild part is how many guys probably got the job done with zero gear and just held their breath. Makes you respect the work but also question every single life choice that led to working in that smell. Ngl, the health stuff they just ignored back then is kind of terrifying when you actually stop to think about it.

kai60211d ago

Yeah that "health stuff they just ignored" thing is everywhere once you start looking, like how every old building has at least one "what were they thinking" choice baked into it.