1. Origin and history

1.1 In the beginning was iron

The first appearance of steel in its most primitive form dates back to the Iron Age, between 1200 and 600 B.C., among the Hittites and Chalybes, peoples of Asia Minor (Caucasus). However, it's important to note that these peoples didn't produce steel as we know it today, but rather an impure metal known as "fire iron".

They produced this iron by digging a hole in the ground, covering it with stones and layers of clay. They then added charcoal, which they lit, and piled up in alternating layers of iron ore and charcoal. This ore, or iron oxide, then took the form of small rocks that they collected from the surface of the ground. The temperature obtained in these holes was relatively low due to the absence of effective blowing....