sow-metal
[f. sow n.1 6. Cf. sow-iron.]
Cast iron in sows or large ingots as it comes from the blasting- or smelting-furnace.
| 1674 Phil. Trans. XVII. 696 They have of late made it much better than heretofore, by melting the Sow-metal over again. 1746 Brit. Mag. 96 The Nucleus Ferri, Sow-metal or liquid Iron. 1761 Ann. Reg. i. 73/2 His new-invented method of making malleable iron from pig or sow metal. 1839 Penny Cycl. XIII. 33/2 The names of sow metal and pig-metal, which..signify..the blocks of iron which are formed in the large main channels, and..the smaller blocks which are formed in smaller side channels. |
| attrib. 1676 in Jrnl. Friends' Hist. Soc. V. 14 The officers took one mare, and his stithy, and sowmettell pot. 1888 R. Leader in Addy Sheffield Gloss. s.v., The very commonest knives made of it are called sow-metal gudgeons. |