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Step 1
Study the history and methodology of hot-iron branding. Early Spanish branding irons often consisted of nothing more than a straight or curved piece of metal that was applied repeatedly to the flanks of cattle to produce an ornate design, not unlike a tattoo artist repeatedly injecting the skin of his "canvas" with ink.
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Step 2
Learn the history associated with the users of the iron. County and state historical societies often can validate the legitimacy of a brand and the iron used to make it, as well as provide ample history of the ranch and ranchers associated with it. You also can find books on branding irons and brand histories, many devoted to a particular region.
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Step 3
Observe the width of the branding iron. A proper branding iron for cattle should have a face at least three-eighths of an inch wide and produce characters four inches long or high for maximum visibility.
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Step 4
Examine the condition of the iron. When properly heated, a hot branding iron should be the color of ashes, not red hot. Repeated overheating will discolor the metal over time and cause pitting and scarring from the metal partially melting. Embedded wood chips or ash mean the iron was heated to the proper temperature when it was used.
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Step 5
Note the specific characters used to make the brand. Open characters such as the letter "C" were preferred over closed characters such as the letter "A" because they were less prone to blotching when applied to the flesh of animals. Such brands would have gotten more use than closed-character brands.
