I finally got around to giving this a go! I was doing the (conventional, electric!) ironing yesterday; the stove was up for cooking, so I cleaned off the bottom of my little iron and sat it on the hotplate. After half an hour, it had heated up quite a lot, the handle becoming very hot. My testing was done on an old teatowel, some hankies and pillowcases. I was surprised at how good the results were, and it kept hot long enough to do several tea towels, two pillowcases and three hankies before needing to be put back on the stove. So, feeling spurred on with small successes (often the best kind :) ), I'll get the iron cleaned up properly with a wire brush and research into how to keep it in top condition.
Plus points - no energy, connection to the past, non-plastic, nice to use, won't wear out or break
Drawbacks - handle gets very hot (I'll have to make a thicker cloth specifically for using it, but that's not a problem), it's quite heavy, even for such a wee iron.
So, when the SHTF, at least I can iron my hankies........ joking aside, I've learned I can do it, another off-grid action to add to the growing list. I'm on the lookout for a couple more now, so I can have one heating and one in use. I have an old one upstairs that belonged to my maternal grandmother, and it's a lovely thing, made for her as a wedding present. I haven't tried it out yet, as it's one that takes hot coals inside, so could be a lot more difficult to use. Will get around to it one day, though. These connections to the past give me great pleasure, especially when there is a family connection.
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