Vintage Charcoal Iron Box

Vintage Charcoal Sad Flat Smoothing Iron Homemade-Treasure Item
Metal pans filled with hot coals were used for smoothing fabrics in China in the 1st century BC. From the 17th century, sadirons or sad irons (from Middle English "sad" meaning of "solid", used in modern English through the 1800s) began to be used. They were thick slabs of cast iron, delta-shaped and with a handle, heated in a fire or on a stove. These were also called flat irons. A later design consisted of an iron box which could be filled with hot coals, which had to be periodically aerated by attaching a bellows. In Kerala in India, burning coconut shells were used instead of charcoal, as they have a similar heating capacity. This method is still in use as a backup device, since power outages are frequent. Other box irons had heated metal inserts instead of hot coals.
Unusual handmade vintage/antique charcoal flat iron with an A-frame shaped handle.

Key Features:

Iron has a latch at front that turns to open lid attached to iron base with a hinge that opens fully to rest on handle.
• Base is made of Cast Iron with V shaped notches at top edge, double vent holes in each side and one at back of iron.
• Iron measures about 9 3/4 inches from front point to back, 5 3/4 inches across back and stands about 5 1/2 inches tall from bottom to top of handle.

• Easy to use
•  Uses Hot Charcoal
•  Container to put coal glowing for longer
•  Air holes to allow charcoal to keep smouldering
• No Electricity Bills