| Wire Drawing |
German wire was the finest in the known world at
the time. It was even used for strings for guitar and
brass lutes of the 15th and 16th centuries. There is
a faint image of a wire-pulling machine in the
background of Joseph Schaitberger's portrait, right.
This was his new occupation when he arrived in
Nürnberg. Drawing wire required great strength.
the time. It was even used for strings for guitar and
brass lutes of the 15th and 16th centuries. There is
a faint image of a wire-pulling machine in the
background of Joseph Schaitberger's portrait, right.
This was his new occupation when he arrived in
Nürnberg. Drawing wire required great strength.
The monk Theophilus in a Westpahlia monestary gave the
first European account of wire-drawing around 1100 AD.
The greatest improvement in hand wire drawing was the
invention of large machines driven by water, thought to have
been first invented in Nürnberg by a man named Rudolf. The
wire went through two stages: iron bars provided by the smith
were made thinner and longer by forging and hammering.
These forms were drawn into a thinner form by pulling them
through successive steel dies. There was a wire-drawing mill
in Nuremberg, Germany in 1370 and a name "Schockenzier"
was commonly used to described a wire-drawer. Conrad
Mendel refers to business records of wire-drawers from
1366-1500. For the first time a wire factory with a wire-
drawing frame was shown. In 1489, Dürer painted a picture
of a Nürnberg Drahtziehmühle (wire mill) by the river Pegnitz.
By the 15th century, there were wire flattening mills from
Zwickau to Breslau and from Augsburg to Nürnberg.
first European account of wire-drawing around 1100 AD.
The greatest improvement in hand wire drawing was the
invention of large machines driven by water, thought to have
been first invented in Nürnberg by a man named Rudolf. The
wire went through two stages: iron bars provided by the smith
were made thinner and longer by forging and hammering.
These forms were drawn into a thinner form by pulling them
through successive steel dies. There was a wire-drawing mill
in Nuremberg, Germany in 1370 and a name "Schockenzier"
was commonly used to described a wire-drawer. Conrad
Mendel refers to business records of wire-drawers from
1366-1500. For the first time a wire factory with a wire-
drawing frame was shown. In 1489, Dürer painted a picture
of a Nürnberg Drahtziehmühle (wire mill) by the river Pegnitz.
By the 15th century, there were wire flattening mills from
Zwickau to Breslau and from Augsburg to Nürnberg.
In some cases in antiquity, wire was used to make jewelery by pulling strips cut from metal sheets
through holes in stone beads, causing the strips to form thin tubes. This technique was in use in
Egypt by the 2nd Dynasty and continued until the middle of the 2nd millennium BC, when most gold
wires in jewelery were formed by placing strips between flat surfaces and rolling them into solid
wires. This was the strip wire drawing method and a strip and block twist method was still in used in
Europe in the 7th century AD.
through holes in stone beads, causing the strips to form thin tubes. This technique was in use in
Egypt by the 2nd Dynasty and continued until the middle of the 2nd millennium BC, when most gold
wires in jewelery were formed by placing strips between flat surfaces and rolling them into solid
wires. This was the strip wire drawing method and a strip and block twist method was still in used in
Europe in the 7th century AD.
Johann August Röbling, a German-born
civil engineer, liked wire, too. He was
famous for his wire rope suspension bridge
designs, in particular, the design of the
Brooklyn Bridge. He had a small wire mill
in Trenton, New Jersey, left.
civil engineer, liked wire, too. He was
famous for his wire rope suspension bridge
designs, in particular, the design of the
Brooklyn Bridge. He had a small wire mill
in Trenton, New Jersey, left.
Das Hausbuch der Mendelschen Zwolfbruderstiftung zu Nürnberg shows many illustrations of the
craftsmen and their tools in fifteenth and sixteenth century Nürnberg and it is a valuable reference
for ancient occupations, among them wire drawing, below
craftsmen and their tools in fifteenth and sixteenth century Nürnberg and it is a valuable reference
for ancient occupations, among them wire drawing, below
Nürnberg, being an imperial city with the privilege of duty-free trade with over 70 other European
cities, was famous for metal working skills such as armour-making and gold-smithing and it had a
plethora of talented craftsmen. Jobst Meuler, a wire-drawer in the city around the time of the Thirty
Years War, invented a technique for making a steel wire of a far higher tensile strength than anything
before. His famous wire was in such demand that in 1621 composer Heinrich Schütz wrote to his
patron, the Elector of Saxony, requesting a large order for Meuler's steel music strings.
cities, was famous for metal working skills such as armour-making and gold-smithing and it had a
plethora of talented craftsmen. Jobst Meuler, a wire-drawer in the city around the time of the Thirty
Years War, invented a technique for making a steel wire of a far higher tensile strength than anything
before. His famous wire was in such demand that in 1621 composer Heinrich Schütz wrote to his
patron, the Elector of Saxony, requesting a large order for Meuler's steel music strings.
