January 26, 2010
Oil Rubbed Bronze Cabinet Hardware History
Bronze has been used for different reasons for many millennia. The understanding of making of bronze is directly linked with man kinds understanding and progress of the use of metals. It was with bronze that we know of, people first came to understand about the advantage of alloys. The first type of bronze was a crude mixture of copper and arsenic But as time went on there was a better understanding of metals and eventually tin was used.
It was discovered that tin was stronger than arsenic and not nearly as toxic, as time went by and when the Iron Age started bronze was still being heavily used because it was found to be stronger than iron or wrought iron. So we see that even when civilizations moved well into the Iron Age, bronze was continually being improved by adding, manganese, phosphorus, and silicon.
The earliest known use of bronze was strictly limited to the manufacturing of tools and weapons, but as time went by there came about a more benign use for bronze, such as making musical instruments and various artifacts. The first places where we see this, is in Thailand and Persia. They were also first to use bronze made from tin and copper, a more superior quality.
So not surprisingly the earliest works of bronze takes place in these countries. One of the main attractive features of bronze is that it tends to expand a little just before setting, thereby filling up the cast and giving it a more finished look. That is the reason why out of all the metals and alloys bronze was the most favored metal for artisans to create any type of art work whether it was just a piece of art to look at or something that had a functional use. Because compared to other metals bronze has a unique rustic beauty to it.
Oil rubbed bronze cabinet hardware came about sometime in the 20th century. Although as the name suggests it may not always have anything to do with oil or bronze. You can give steel an oiled bronze look by the electro plating method. That is electro plating using metal such bronze or brass. After that a lacquer is applied to give its final look. For brass and bronze black nickel is used and then rubbed with oil to give it the famous oiled look.
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Filed under kitchen cabinets by Alexander Stone
