Branding iron
Encyclopedia
From the branding of livestock
Livestock branding
Livestock branding is a technique for marking livestock so as to identify the owner. Originally, livestock branding only referred to a hot brand for large stock, though the term is now also used to refer to other alternative techniques such as freeze branding...
to prove ownership to the branding of woodcrafts to prove craftsmanship, branding irons are used in many different ways.
History
The history of branding is very much tied to the history of using animals as a commodity. The act of marking livestock with fire-heated marks to identify ownership begins in ancient times, with use dating back to the ancient EgyptAncient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ians. The process continued throughout the ages, with Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
using the process to brand slaves as well.
In the English lexicon, the word "brand" originally meant anything hot or burning, such as a fire-brand, a burning stick. By the European Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
it commonly identified the process of burning a mark into a stock animals with thick hides, such as cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, so as to identify ownership under animus revertendi
Animus revertendi
The term animus revertendi is a Latin phrase that means "With intention to return". It can refer to an animal that is under the care of another, which distinguishes it from an animal ferae naturae . It is a type of ownership right recognized by property law. This legal concept also supports the...
. The practice became particularly widespread in nations with large cattle grazing regions, such as Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
These European customs were imported to the Americas and were further refined by the vaquero
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
tradition in what today is the southwestern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and northern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. In the American West, a branding iron consisted of an iron rod with a simple symbol or mark which cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
s heated in a fire. After the branding iron turned red-hot, the cowboy pressed the branding iron against the hide of the cow. The unique brand meant that cattle owned by multiple ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
es could then graze freely together on the open range. Cowboys could then separate the cattle at round-up time for driving to market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
.
From the Americas, many cattle branding traditions and techniques spread to other countries such Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where a distinct set of traditions and techniques developed
Types of branding irons
Branding Irons come in a variety of styles, designed primarily by their method of heating.Fire-heated
The traditional fire-heated method is still in use today. While they require longer lengths of time to heat, are inconsistent in temperature and all around inferior to more advanced forms of branding, they are inexpensive to produce and purchase, which all but guarantees their continued use. Fire-heated branding irons are used to brand woodWood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
, steak
Steak
A steak is a cut of meat . Most are cut perpendicular to the muscle fibers, improving the perceived tenderness of the meat. In North America, steaks are typically served grilled, pan-fried, or broiled. The more tender cuts from the loin and rib are cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole...
, leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
, livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
and plastics.
Electric
Electric branding irons utilize an electric heating element to heat a branding iron to the desired heat in much the same way an electric toaster or space heater works. Electric branding irons come in many variations from irons designed to brand cattleCattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, irons designed to mark wood and leather and models designed to be placed inside a drill press for the purposes of manufacturing. An Electric Branding Iron's temperature can be controlled by increasing or decreasing the flow of electricity.
Propane
Propane Branding Irons use a continuous flow of propanePropane
Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...
to heat the iron head. They are commonly used where electricity is not available. Utilizing the flow of propane, the temperature can be adjusted for varying branding environments.
A commercially built branding iron heater fired with L.P. gas is a common method of heating several branding irons at once.
Freeze-branding
In contrast to traditional hot-iron branding, freeze branding uses a branding iron that has been chilled with a coolant such as dry iceDry ice
Dry ice, sometimes referred to as "Cardice" or as "card ice" , is the solid form of carbon dioxide. It is used primarily as a cooling agent. Its advantages include lower temperature than that of water ice and not leaving any residue...
or liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen is nitrogen in a liquid state at a very low temperature. It is produced industrially by fractional distillation of liquid air. Liquid nitrogen is a colourless clear liquid with density of 0.807 g/mL at its boiling point and a dielectric constant of 1.4...
. Rather than burning a scar into the animal, a freeze brand damages the pigment-producing hair cells, causing the animal's hair to grow white where the brand has been applied. To apply a freeze brand, the hair coat of the animal is shaved so that the bare skin is exposed, then the frozen iron is applied to the bare area for a period of time that varies with both the species of animal and the color of its hair coat: Shorter times are used on dark-colored animals, simply causing the hair follicles to lose all color and regrow as white hairs. Longer times are needed on animals with white hair coats, as the brand is applied long enough to permanently stop the hair from growing in the branded area and only skin remains.
Livestock
Livestock brandingLivestock branding
Livestock branding is a technique for marking livestock so as to identify the owner. Originally, livestock branding only referred to a hot brand for large stock, though the term is now also used to refer to other alternative techniques such as freeze branding...
is perhaps the most prevalent use of a branding iron. Modern use includes gas heating, the traditional fire-heated method, an iron heated by electricity (electric cattle branding iron) or an iron super cooled by dry ice (freeze branding iron). Cattle, horses and other livestock are commonly branded today for the same reason they were in Ancient times, to prove ownership.
Wood branding
Woodworkers will often use Electric or Fire-Heated Branding Irons to leave their maker's mark or company logo. Timber pallets and other timber export packaging is often marked in this way in accordance with ISPM 15ISPM 15
International Standards For Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 is an International Phytosanitary Measure developed by the International Plant Protection Convention that directly addresses the need to treat wood materials of a thickness greater than 6mm, used to ship products between countries...
to indicate that the timber has been treated to prevent it carrying pests.
Steak
Steak branding irons are used commonly by barbecueBarbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
enthusiasts and professional chefs to leave a mark indicating how well done a steak is or to identify the chef or grill master.
Leather
Branding Irons are used often by makers of horse tackHorse tack
Tack is a term used to describe any of the various equipment and accessories worn by horses in the course of their use as domesticated animals. Saddles, stirrups, bridles, halters, reins, bits, harnesses, martingales, and breastplates are all forms of horse tack...
often in place of a steel leather stamp to indicate craftsmanship.
See also
- Cattle raceCattle raceA cattle race also called a run or alley is a narrow corridor built for cattle, sheep, pigs and other animals to travel through when being moved from one location to another that is nearby...
- Horse markingsHorse markingsMarkings on horses usually are distinctive white areas on an otherwise dark base coat color. Most horses have some markings, and they help to identify the horse as a unique individual. Markings are present at birth and do not change over the course of the horse's life...
- Human brandingHuman brandingHuman branding or stigmatizing is the process in which a mark, usually a symbol or ornamental pattern, is burned into the skin of a living person, with the intention that the resulting scar makes it permanent. This is performed using a hot or very cold branding iron...
- RanchRanchA ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
- Squeeze chute
- TattooTattooA tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...