Editing Blacksmith (section)

=== Iron Age ===
Concurrent with the advent of alphabetic characters in the [[Iron Age]], humans became aware of the metal [[iron]]. However, in earlier ages, iron's qualities, in contrast to those of bronze, were not generally understood. Iron [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifacts]], composed of [[meteoric iron]], have the [[chemical composition]] containing up to 40% [[nickel]]. As this source of this iron is extremely rare and fortuitous, little development of smithing skills peculiar to iron can be assumed to have occurred. That we still possess any such artifacts of meteoric iron may be ascribed to the vagaries of climate, and the increased corrosion-resistance conferred on iron by the presence of nickel.

During the (north) Polar Exploration of the early 20th century, [[Inughuit]], northern [[Greenlandic Inuit]], were found to be making iron knives from two particularly large nickel-iron meteors.<ref>{{cite web |last=Schaefer |first=Bradley E. |url=http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/meteors/3304111.html?page=2&c=y |title=Meteors That Changed the World |publisher=SkyandTelescope.com |work=Meteors |access-date=2010-07-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222204530/http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/meteors/3304111.html?page=2&c=y |archive-date=2014-02-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref> One of these meteors was taken to [[Washington, D.C.]], where it was remitted to the custody of the [[Smithsonian Institution]].

The [[Hittites]] of [[Anatolia]] first discovered or developed the smelting of iron ores around 1500 BC. They seem to have maintained a near monopoly on the knowledge of iron production for several hundred years, but when their empire collapsed during the Eastern Mediterranean upheavals around 1200 BC, the knowledge seems to have escaped in all directions.

In the [[Iliad]] of [[Homer]] (describing the [[Trojan War]] and [[Bronze Age]] Greek and Trojan warriors), most of the [[armor]] and weapons (swords and spears) are stated to have been of bronze. Iron is not unknown, however, as [[arrowhead]]s are described as iron, and a "ball of iron" is listed as a prize awarded for winning a competition.
The events described probably occurred around 1200 BC, but Homer is thought to have composed this epic poem around 700 BC; so exactitude must remain suspect.
[[File:Blacksmith Shop Behind Custom House.jpg|thumb|left|A blacksmith shop in the harbor of [[Saint John, New Brunswick]], [[Canada]] in the late 19th century]]
The historical record during the [[Late Bronze Age collapse|Late Bronze Age Collapse]] is very inconsistent. Very few iron artifacts remain from the early [[Iron Age]], due to loss from corrosion and re-use of iron as a valuable commodity. However, all of the basic operations of blacksmithing were in use by the time the Iron Age reached a particular locality. The scarcity of records and artifacts, and the rapidity of the transition from Bronze Age to Iron Age, is a reason to use evidence of bronze smithing to infer about the early development of blacksmithing.

It is uncertain when Iron weapons replaced Bronze weapons because the earliest Iron swords did not significantly improve on the qualities of existing bronze artifacts. Unalloyed iron is soft, does not hold an edge as well as a properly constructed bronze blade and needs more maintenance. Iron ores are more widely available than the necessary materials to create bronze however, which made iron weapons more economical than comparable bronze weapons. Small amounts of steel are often formed during several of the earliest refining practices, and when the properties of this alloy were discovered and exploited, steel edged weapons greatly outclassed bronze.

Iron is different from most other materials (including bronze), in that it does not immediately go from a solid to a liquid at its [[melting point]]. H<sub>2</sub>O is a solid (ice) at −1 C (31 F), and a liquid (water) at +1 C (33 F). Iron, by contrast, is definitely a solid at {{convert|800|°F|°C|abbr=on}}, but over the next {{convert|1500|°F|°C|abbr=on}} it becomes increasingly plastic and more "taffy-like" as its temperature increases. This extreme temperature range of variable solidity is the fundamental material property upon which blacksmithing practice depends.

Another major difference between bronze and iron fabrication techniques is that bronze ''can'' be melted. The melting point of iron is much higher than that of bronze. In the western (Europe & the Mideast) tradition, the technology to make fires hot enough to melt iron did not arise until the 16th century, when smelting operations grew large enough to require overly large bellows. These produced blast-furnace temperatures high enough to melt partially refined ores, resulting in ''[[cast iron]]''. Thus cast-iron frying pans and cookware did not become possible in Europe until 3000 years after the introduction of iron smelting. China, in a separate developmental tradition, was producing cast iron at least 1000 years before this.

Although iron is quite abundant, good quality steel remained rare and expensive until the industrial developments of [[Bessemer process]] ''et al.'' in the 1850s. Close examination of blacksmith-made antique tools clearly shows where small pieces of steel were forge-welded into iron to provide the hardened steel cutting edges of tools (notably in axes, adzes, chisels, etc.). The re-use of quality steel is another reason for the lack of artifacts.

The [[Roman Empire|Romans]] (who ensured that their own weapons were made with good steel) noted (in the 4th century BC) that the [[Celts]] of the Po River Valley had iron, but not good steel. The Romans record that during battle, their Celtic opponents could only swing their swords two or three times before having to step on their swords to straighten them.

On the [[Indian subcontinent]], [[Wootz]] steel was, and continues to be, produced in small quantities.

In southern Asia and [[Blacksmiths of western Africa|western Africa]], blacksmiths form endogenous [[caste]]s that sometimes speak distinct languages.