A branding iron is used for branding, pressing a heated metal shape against an object or livestock with the intention of leaving an identifying mark.

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 the ancient Egyptians. The process continued throughout the ages, with both

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and American colonists using the process to brand slaves as well. In the English lexicon, the Germanic word "

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create ...

" originally meant anything hot or burning, such as a ''fire-brand'', a burning stick. By the European

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

it commonly identified the process of burning a mark into a stock animals with thick hides, such as

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

, so as to identify ownership under

animus revertendi Animus may refer to: Philosophy * Anima and animus, Jungian concepts * The ancient Roman concept of ''animus'' or soul * ''Animus'' (journal), an electronic journal of philosophy and humanities Music * "Animus", a track on the album ''Music o ...

. In England, the rights of common including the common pasture system meant that cattle could be grazed on certain land with commoner's rights and the cattle were branded to show ownership, often with the commoner's or Lord of the manor's mark. The practice was widespread in most European nations with large cattle grazing regions, including

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. With colonialism, many cattle branding traditions and techniques were spread via the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

and to countries of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

including the Americas, Australasia &

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

where distinct sets of traditions and techniques developed respectively. In the Americas these European systems continued with English tradition being used in the New England Colonies and spread outwards with the western expansion of the U.S. The Spanish system evolved from the south with the '' vaquero'' tradition in what today is the southwestern

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 territori ...

and northern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The branding iron consisted of an iron rod with a simple symbol or mark which was heated in a fire. After the branding iron turned red-hot, the cowhand pressed the branding iron against the hide of the cow. The unique brand meant that cattle owned by multiple owners could then graze freely together on the commons or

open range In the Western United States and Canada, open range is rangeland where cattle roam freely regardless of land ownership. Where there are "open range" laws, those wanting to keep animals off their property must erect a fence to keep animals out; th ...

. Drovers or cowboys could then separate the cattle at '' roundup'' time for driving to

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

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. Fire-heated branding irons are used to brand

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

steak A steak is a thick cut of meat generally sliced across the muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally grilled or fried. Steak can be diced, cooked in sauce, such as in steak and kidney pie, or minced and formed into patti ...

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

and plastics.

Electric

Electric branding irons utilize an electric

heating element A heating element converts electrical energy into heat through the process of Joule heating. Electric current through the element encounters resistance, resulting in heating of the element. Unlike the Peltier effect, this process is indepen ...

to heat a branding iron to the desired temperature. Electric branding irons come in many variations from irons designed to brand

, 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 propane 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 stark contrast to traditional hot-iron branding,

freeze branding Freeze branding (sometimes called CryoBranding and the resulting brands, trichoglyphs) is a technique involving a cryogenic coolant instead of heat to produce permanent marks on a variety of animals. The coolant is used to lower the temperature o ...

uses an iron that has been chilled with a coolant such as

dry ice Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide. It is commonly used for temporary refrigeration as CO2 does not have a liquid state at normal atmospheric pressure and sublimates directly from the solid state to the gas state. It is used primarily ...

or liquid nitrogen. Instead of burning a scar into the animal's skin, a freeze brand damages the pigment-producing hair cells, causing the animal's hair to grow back white within the branded area. This white-on-dark pattern is prized by cattle ranchers as its contrast allows some range work to be conducted with binoculars rather than individual visits to every animal. To apply a freeze brand the hair coat of the animal is first shaved very closely so that bare skin is exposed. Then the frozen iron is pressed to the animal's bare skin 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, as this causes follicle melanocyte death and hence permanent pigment loss to the hair when it regrows. Longer times, sometimes as little as five seconds more, are needed for animals with white hair coats. In these cases the brand is applied for long enough to kill the cells of the growth follicle, those that create the hair filaments themselves. This leaves the animal permanently bald in the branded area. The somewhat darker epidermis then contrasts well with a pale animal's coat.

Popular use

Livestock

Livestock 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 Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials ...

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 15 International Standards For Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM 15) is an International Phytosanitary Measure developed by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) that directly addresses the need to treat wood materials of a thickne ...

to indicate that the timber has been treated to prevent it carrying pests.

Steak

Steak branding irons are used commonly by barbecue 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 tack Tack is equipment or accessories equipped on horses and other equines in the course of their use as domesticated animals. This equipment includes such items as saddles, stirrups, bridles, halters, reins, bits, and harnesses. Equipping a hors ...

often in place of a steel leather stamp to indicate craftsmanship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Branding Iron Horse management Identification of domesticated animals Woodworking Barbecue