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  • From: "Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Iron and Steel
  • Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 07:19:01 -0500

Dear David,

Just a technical note, iron and steel are quite different. King David may have had iron weapons but he almost
certainly did not have steel. Iron must be "steeled" with
certain alloys by specific processes that were certainly
not available in the early iron age.

HH: You are probably right, but the ancients did apparently make some steel. See the fourth and fifth paragraphs below:
http://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/def_en/kap_5/advanced/t5_1_4.html

The early iron smiths (probably being Hethites [Hittites] of some form) could "wring" the iron from this bloom by separating the iron from the rest mechanically and repeatedly hammering together what was left at high temperatures (about 800 oC; some of the slag then is liquid and gets squeezed out) with, no doubt, proper prayers to the respective gods and many (magical) tricks.

What they finally obtained was "wrought iron" ("Schmiedeeisen"), i.e. a lump of rather pure iron consisting of welded together small pieces with plenty of small inclusions (small, because of the hammering that breaks up large pieces of slag).

Extreme care was necessary - from the selection of the iron ore, the reduction process and the hammering business. If you were careless, the iron oxidized again (it really "burns" at temperatures in excess of about 800 oC), and if you kept your reduction process going too long, carbon diffuses in and you may end up with cast iron (C content about 3% - 4%; melting point as low as 1130 0C). Then you actually got it liquid - "casting" was possible - but cast iron is brittle and useless (for weapons, that is)
.
Somewhat later, with larger furnaces and increased experience, the bloom obtained may have contained some high-carbon melted parts on its top layer. It then consisted of a whole range of iron-carbon alloys - from rather pure wrought iron to cast iron with good steel - say 0,5 % - 1,5% carbon - in between. The art of the smith than included to pick the right pieces. This was a highly developed skill, we know about it especially from Japan; but that does not mean that the Kelts or others did not do it just as well.
But beware. The art of making iron and steel, developed over 2000 years in many civilizations, cannot be contained in a few lines, not to mention that very little is known about that story - iron, after all, rusts (see the link showing an old sword), and not much has been found that gives detailed knowledge about how the old Romans, Indian, Chinese, etc., made their steel and iron products.

Nevertheless - the early smiths, starting with the Greek god Hephaistos (the roman Volcanos) and containing many fabulous figures like the Nordic "Wieland the smith" or "Mime" in Wagners "Ring des Nibelungen," could produce articles, especially swords, from the iron bloom that were much better than the customary bronze stuff (and than of course "Magical" swords). In other words, they sometimes succeeded in making good steel.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard




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