Steel

[Sir Chauncy]

Does anyone have an acturate date as to when steel was introduced/discovered in Europe? I mean, when did the Iron Age become the steel age so to speak. Having steel must have been as much of an advantage to a civilisation as having Iron over bronze. But I just have no idea when it reached us.

Thanks

[Hosakawa Tito]

I'm not really sure there is a "hard" date for the production of steel in the West. There is some archeological evidence pointing to several sites in Sweden dating to around 1150 AD. Producing steel in large quantities was difficult because the main difference between iron and steel is the amount of carbon present in the metal, I think there is %1 carbon in steel, less in wrought iron, more,%3 1/2 in cast iron. Early smelters only reached about 700 degrees (which produces malleable wrought iron),but is not hot enough to liquify iron. To liquify iron you need temps of about 1200 degrees, at this temp the metal can easily absorb carbon, too much over the %1 for steel and you end up with hard cast iron. Controlling the rate of carbon absorption was very difficult, especially with medieval technology. Small quantities of steel was produced and used for the blade edges, welded around a wrought iron core. Iron production really took off with the introduction of the cannon and the need for casting uniform cannon balls as shot. The technology for producing steel in mass quantities didn't happen till the mid - nineteenth century.

[Sir Chauncy]

thank you anyway, It is more than I knew before.
I was just inerested as to how they made suits of Plate mail. I always thought that they were steel. I mean, surely they would have rusted or been a bit brittle made out of iron? Ho hum, you live and learn.

[Papewaio]

Steel rusts.

You need to add chromium to it to make it stainless steel.

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However if you happen to pull a piece of metal out of a field and make it into a plough you may be lucky enough to have picked a piece of an iron meteorite.

Some people say that these are what have given rise to the magic swords of legend, the idea being that the iron meteorites have a good base metal low on carbon to make a nice steel sword just by being wrought into shape.

[Hosakawa Tito]

Pape, have you ever read the "Camalud" series of books by Jack Whyte?