Rural Rites: Barbed wire – Twisted strands of steel withstand the test of time 

By LORI COPE | East Texas Edition

Nov. 24, 2005 - Chances are you can think of at least one “saying” that includes the words “barbed wire,” or maybe you have a scar or two inflicted by the barbs on the twisted steel strands.

Chances are, though, few may know that on this date, 131 years ago, the U.S. Patent Office granted Joseph Glidden, an Illinois farmer, legal rights to the fencing product. 

The idea for the barbed wire was best developed by Glidden, who improved on what he’d seen at an exhibit at the De Kalb County Fair in Illinois in 1873. Several ideas for the fencing product were being produced, and recorded at the U.S. Patent Office. Glidden applied for the patent on his version of barbed wire in October 1873.

Once the patent was granted on Nov. 24, 1872, Glidden began to focus on marketing the product. A local hardware merchant, Isaac Ellwood, and Glidden formed the Barb Fence Company. They were approached by the Washburn and Moen Co. about selling the company and its new product. The Washburn, Moen, and Ellwood company was formed, and the farmer, Glidden, received $60,000 and a royalty of 25 cents per 100 pounds of barbed wire sold through the new company.

Today, barbed wire fences are commonly used to keep animals in, or out of, a section of land. For those new to the rural scene, and maybe un-familiar with the details of barbed wire, here are a few tidbits of information.

Cost for the material has seen its ups and downs. In 1874, reports show it sold for $20 per hundred pounds, but by 1897, that cost significantly decreased to $1.80. In 2005, cost for a roll of the barbed wire ranges from $40 to $70, depending on barb count, gauge size, and quality.

As pointed out by Billy Reid, a team leader at the Tractor Supply Co. store in Sulphur Springs, the smaller the gauge number, the bigger the diameter. For instance, a 12 1/2 gauge barbed wire is larger in diameter than a 15 1/2 gauge. Most often, the 12 1/2-gauge wire is used to build long stretches of fence, and the 15 1/2-gauge wire is good for fixing patches of the fence. “The 15 1/2 is real rigid,” Reid said.

Most rolls of wire contain 80 rods of wire. One rod equals 16.4 feet, so an 80-rod roll is 1,320 feet of wire, according to an acreage guide supplied by Tractor Supply. The guide (found in the Tractor Supply Co.’s free “blue book” product catalog) also notes several examples of calculating fencing needs, including that if you have a 10-acre place to fence, two rolls of the 80-rod roll will go around it once. But since most fences are more than one strand, the calculation increases to 10 rolls of the 80-rod roll to put up a five-strand fence around the 10 acres.

�Reid also pointed out they carry four different brands of barbed wire � some made in America, and some made in Mexico. �

�There are fence builders who prefer to support the U.S.A. and purchase the American-made wire, although the Mexican-made barbed wire is a little cheaper. Reid noted one of the best-selling barbed wires at their store is Red Brand, made in Oklahoma, and it�s recognizable by the red-colored barbs spaced on the shiny-new silver strands.

The number of barb points on the two, smooth twisted wires (that forms one strand) ranges from two to four, and the spacing between barbs is usually four, five, or six inches.

Fence-building advice on how to do the job “right” varies, but finding a reputable fence builder is key. Recommendations for a good provider of the service may likely come from the nearest town’s Chamber of Commerce, or even the Internet.