If you were to ask the average historian what kind of metal played the biggest role in human history, you wouldn’t hear them mention precious metals like gold or silver. When it comes to important metals in human history, steel is one of the most important, if not the most important. The Iron Age and the Bronze Age were ended centuries ago, but if there was a Steel Age some would argue that humans have been in it for thousands of years.
Steel, together with a wide variety of tools, has shaped a lot of the modern world, and humans have been using steel to win battles and construct buildings, since it was discovered. The earliest known production of this metal was a piece of ironware that was excavated from an archaeological site in the area we know today as Turkey, and it’s estimated to be 4,000 years old. The oldest forms of steel we know about were made in bloomeries. A bloomer is a type of furnace that is used for smelting iron from its oxides. It’s possible to still use a bloomer to produce steel, but since there are far more efficient ways to do it, the bloomer isn’t widely used anymore.
Different great empires have found their own way to forge and utilize this alloy, and it has been made in a variety of ways since its discovery. One of the most famous types of the ancient world is Damascus Steel and Wootz Steel. Wootz Steel had its beginnings in the Indian Subcontinent and was originally discovered in Sri Lanka. Some people think that steel making technology was being used in India since 500 BC- 400 BC, but Wootz Steel didn’t make its debut until about 300 BC. Wootz was popular and soon spread throughout ancient Europe and the Arab world. When it reached the Middle East Arab nations they found their own way to forage and recreate the highly sought after alloy, and even though the steel they made is the same as Wootz, steel from the Middle East soon became known as Damascus Steel. In the 9th or 10th century AD crucible steel was formed. Crucible steel is made from slowly heating and cooling pure iron and carbon in a crucible.
Since past steel making processes were very time consuming it was
treated as a very expensive metal, but now that technology has improved it is one of the most affordable metals you can buy. Steel making methods have evolved considerably since the process of creating it was discovered, and the modern technique and cast technologies casting industries has allowed us to form different grades of steel that can be used for a variety of applications. Cold formed steel (commonly abbreviated as CFS) is becoming a popular form of steel in the manufacturing and construction industry. Cold-formed steel goods are created by the working of sheet steel using stamping, rolling, or presses to form the sheet into a usable product.
So the next time you hear the term precious metals, be not so quick to think of gold and silver for without steel we might still be living in caves and wrestling our dinner.
Julius Cruz is a jeweler who enjoys reading mystery novels and spending time with his wife and 2 kids
About Douglas Smythe
