Roman and Chinese Metalworking
Chinese steel was highly valued in the Roman Empire (which controlled much of the western world between 27 B.C.E. and 476 A..), since Roman workshops could not mass-produce metals with comparable strength and sharpness. Steel is a metal alloy (mixture)manufactured by heating iron ore(raw iron)to high temperatures, then combining the molten(melted) metal with carbon or other strengthening elements. The quality of steel produced by these techniques depends on the sustained temperature of the furnace and the quantity and condition of the added compounds. Good-quality steel is harder than iron and has much greater flexibility and strength.Blades made from steel therefore maintain a sharper edge for a longer time and have a greater resistance to rust than their equivalent in iron.Western civilizations did not have sufficient knowledge of the carbon compounds that need to be added to molten iron to produce reliable steel. Instead, the Romans produced wrought iron (iron with very low carbon content) by first heating iron ore in a furnace (oven) to separate metal from impurities in a process known as smelting. This technique was used throughout the Roman Empire to make tools and bladed weapons. The resultant iron also acquired a trace of strengthening carbon from the charcoal fueling the furnaces.
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