Anyone know brading irons.

[RifleBowPistol]

I have had interest in branding irons for years, but never bought any, never used any when I have worked on ranches either, never knew anyone that knew anything about them.

A while back I found a branding iron and knew right off it was old, not sure how old, but old enough it was made by a black smith. It was made by heating the metal and hammering the pieces together. So I had to buy it. That one is made so it will fit on the end of a wooden handle, which I would bet is a good idea. I would bet a branding iron in the fire most of the day, the whole iron would start to get a bit hot after a while. That brand is a PO. I would bet this one to be at least 100 years old.

My other favorite and unique branding iron, which also seems like it is potentially old, maybe 100 years old, but may only be 50 years old. I really don't know. It is a star, it also is made to be installed on the end of a wooden handle. I suspect this one was made within the last 80 years, it looks like it has some stick welding done to it. It has a shaft that I assume was a square shaped rod, that was heated and twisted. Then they twisted some wire around the shaft and attached it somehow. That's something I am not sure about. The star is made of some thin metal, you have to get it very hot to be able to burn anything with it, then it cools off quickly, when out of the coals.

Then I have a W, it is well made, but stick welded, so it was most likely made within the last 80 years.

Then I have a ST, again, it is definitely stick welded.

Then I have a stick figure/man, that is also stick welded, it is well made.

I am pretty sure the last one is a 8 and not a S, it is well made and stick welded.


So does anyone on her know branding irons? Things such as at what point, did they commonly use stick welders to make branding irons? I am pretty sure stick welders have been around since the 1920s, for sure the 1930s, but when did they make it to rural areas, to guys who would make branding irons and do other work for farmers and ranchers.

About when did guys typically stop using old blacksmith ways of making pieces? I would like to know as much as possible about how they have been made over the years, or styles of making branding irons. Thanks.

[peterp63]

I don’t know anything about these but you’ve got a pretty cool collection. Bump for ya.

[ThisLadyHunts]

My first thought when reading your post was to suggest you seek out curators at museums of Western heritage. Here are a few (more local) to start with:

Panhandle Plains Museum, Amarillo
American Cowboy Museum, Houston
National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City

They might be able to recommend books in publication that can give you the information you want. They might also know of a curatorial or appraisal specialist for branding irons they could recommend if you want a professional to review your branding irons for specific information.

Good luck and let me know what you find out. I have a couple of branding irons from my family; my favorite is one that belonged to my great grandmother. She was a salty old woman. She and my great grandfather each had their own brands. When they married, she told him, in no uncertain terms, that she would be keeping her brand and that they would each have their own cattle! She dipped snuff, too.

My husband is fond of saying that I am just like her. I don’t see why. I’ve never dipped snuff.

[RifleBowPistol]

My first thought when reading your post was to suggest you seek out curators at museums of Western heritage. Here are a few (more local) to start with:

Panhandle Plains Museum, Amarillo
American Cowboy Museum, Houston
National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City

They might be able to recommend books in publication that can give you the information you want. They might also know of a curatorial or appraisal specialist for branding irons they could recommend if you want a professional to review your branding irons for specific information.

Good luck and let me know what you find out. I have a couple of branding irons from my family; my favorite is one that belonged to my great grandmother. She was a salty old woman. She and my great grandfather each had their own brands. When they married, she told him, in no uncertain terms, that she would be keeping her brand and that they would each have their own cattle! She dipped snuff, too.

My husband is fond of saying that I am just like her. I don’t see why. I’ve never dipped snuff.

Your grandparents sound interesting, my family used to own multiple ranches back into the 1840s. I don't know of any brands from any of those ranches.
Thanks for the info, I will look into those.
When I found the first one, a few years ago, I could tell it was old and bought it, for that reason. Then found other branding irons and started buying more. I want to find more of the older ones, back before they were using stick welders.

[RifleBowPistol]

I don’t know anything about these but you’ve got a pretty cool collection. Bump for ya.

Thanks.

[bowtecmike]

The Ranching Heritage Center at Texas Tech is the first place i would inquire.


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[RifleBowPistol]

The Ranching Heritage Center at Texas Tech is the first place i would inquire.


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Ok, I can do that. Daughter goes to school there.

[RifleBowPistol]

I am not really trying to find what ranches these brands were for, but that would be nice to know. I tried to get on line and search ranch brands, there are way too many to search and then to be sure of which brand is from which ranch. I found that, in just Texas alone, you have to register your brand in your county, then renew it ever 10 years. So with the many counties in Texas alone, then every 10 years, there are new listings. Then there is a chance that one or more brands are actually from different states. From what I can tell, other states do the same thing, all ranch brands are listed in the counties they are in, then renewed every 10 years. So the chances of finding out what ranches these are from is very slim. That idea I gave up on quickly, just trying to find the ranch the PO brand belonged to. Turns out there are many ranches that used the PO brand, in many counties, over the years in just Texas. There are a lot of variations of the PO brands. After a few days of searching, that idea got dropped.

So I have settled for just trying to get an idea of what point in time the various brand I have, may have been made. I know different people use different styles of making things, at different points in time. Basically I am sure there are guys who stuck with making brands and other items the old ways, for many years, after other guys had switched to using modern methods. Then others switched to newer methods, early on. So the transition from one method to another is really going to vary by the maker. But it would be nice to have an idea, of when most guys started switching from the older methods to the newer methods. I would bet after WW II, a lot of guys changed the way they made various parts. I am sure with all of the manufacturing and repairing going on during that time, it introduced a lot of guys to new methods. Probably the same for WW I.

[ThisLadyHunts]

Something you may find interesting...

If you ever happen to be in Kerrville, stop by the YO Ranch Hotel. There, in their main lobby, is a huge chandelier made with hundreds(??) of hanging branding irons. It’s SO cool!

[RattlesnakeDan]

Those are cool. I started a side business and named it Lone Star Mesquite, besides mantles and tables I make cutting boards, serving boards and charcuterie boards. I knew I wanted to brand them so I found and old steel star drawer pull and welded a piece of rebar to it and made a wood handle. I heat it up with a pear burner, takes a couple minutes and brand both sides of all my boards. Kinda cool way to do it.

[RifleBowPistol]

Something you may find interesting...

If you ever happen to be in Kerrville, stop by the YO Ranch Hotel. There, in their main lobby, is a huge chandelier made with hundreds(??) of hanging branding irons. It’s SO cool!

Ok, if I have time, the next time I am out there.

[RifleBowPistol]

Those are cool. I started a side business and named it Lone Star Mesquite, besides mantles and tables I make cutting boards, serving boards and charcuterie boards. I knew I wanted to brand them so I found and old steel star drawer pull and welded a piece of rebar to it and made a wood handle. I heat it up with a pear burner, takes a couple minutes and brand both sides of all my boards. Kinda cool way to do it.

Sounds cool. I have heard of guys using pear burners to heat branding irons. I actually put all of these branding irons in the fire pit, when I branded the wood on the deck. I learned a little about using branding irons. Holding them over the fire did not get them that hot. When I put them down in the coals, they would eventually turn red. I found they all worked pretty good, that I could do at least two, if not three brands, each time I pulled them out of the fire pit. Except for the star, the metal is too thin, that one you have to burry it in the coals, wait quite a while, then pull it out, brand something quickly then back in the coals. It does not have thick enough metal to stay hot enough every long, cools off way too quickly.

[EarleyBird]

The Ranching Heritage Center at Texas Tech is the first place i would inquire.


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I love that place. Matter of fact, we'll be there this weekend.