Did You Know: Falconry Bells Are Made from Phosphor Bronze

When you work for a metal vendor, you end up learning a lot. Especially when it comes to different metals and how they’re used. People typically have some grasp on the most common items made from various metals. Some examples include cookware from stainless steel, electrical wires from copper, construction beams from steel, to name a few. But phosphor bronze isn’t a household name like those other materials are. In general, people are less familiar with it and what it goes into. 

In previous blogs, we’ve covered the common uses for phosphor bronze, along with some of its unique properties. Turns out, phos bronze (for short) is used in the manufacturing of springs, fasteners, and bolts. These components benefit from some of the unique properties of phosphor bronze, like:

• Strength and resilience
• Corrosion resistance
• Electrical conductivity
• Excellent elasticity

But there’s one use for phosphor bronze that we’ve yet to talk about: falconry bells. Now, if this is the first time you’re hearing about falconry, I’ll give you a little background. 

What is falconry? And why does it have bells?  

I took the definition of falconry from the North American Falconers Association: 

Falconry can be defined as the taking of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained raptor. This ancient art is a very demanding endeavor, requiring a serious dedication of time and energy from the falconer.

-- Source

Today, falconry is a type of hunting sport, but the methods of training a bird of prey for hunting purposes have been around for nearly 4,000 years. Falconry bells, as you may have guessed, are an essential component for falconers. 

Falconry bells and what they’re made of

Falconry bells, which attach to a hawk’s legs, provide the falconer with information about their bird of prey. They can help locate the bird’s location, let the falconer know if the bird is active or stationary, and signal the falconer if the bird is near a predator.

Falconry bells come in multiple shapes and are made from metal. Nickel, silver, brass, and bronze are all common materials used for falconry bells. Both the shape and the metal type impacts a bell’s sound quality, along with its pitch, tone, volume, and durability. Oftentimes, individual falconers will have a preference in material type based on which pitches are the easiest for them to hear. 

Falconry bells made with phosphor bronze emit a lower pitch than those made with nickel or silver. Phosphor bronze is often hailed for its hardness and corrosion resistance. 

Here at Mead Metals, we stock phosphor bronze in multiple tempers and thicknesses ranging from 0.004 to 0.125. If you’re in need of phosphor bronze for your next round of falconry bells — or any other application, take a moment to request a quote from us.