any old iron

[mick60now]

could anyone explane to me any significant difference between golf blades made in 1970/80s and modern blades,

[thanw]

The very best old blades were nearly identical to the very best new blades. The difference is that few golfers hit the pure blade long irons anymore whereas back then everyone did. There were some real dogs back then too. They looked like golf clubs but were in fact diabolical torture devices.

[wedge head]

Another big difference would have been the shafts. The old shafts were like tree trunks.

Also the old blades lacked the precise forging that the new forgings have.

[Midway]

I would assume the metal used to make them would be a little different as well? Just a guess tho.

[wedge head]

A good example of the difference in forgings would be the grain flow forgings of Mizuno. The relief grinding of the soles also make a huge difference.

[JonMA1]

I have a set of Ben Hogan Radials and from what I've read up on them, they are from around 1983 and are forged. I don't know if they are considered blades or were an early form of game improvement irons. Anyway, the clubs are very easy to hit relative to how well (or poorly) I hit my newer Adams A4r's (game-improvement cast). Don't get me wrong, if I had money riding on a single 5 iron shot, I'd use the Adams. But it's surprising that this club's 30 year old design still works pretty well.