Iron is probably the most precious of all metals, since man
would certainly miss this element more than any other, even the
so-called precious ones. In the beginning of the 14th century,
when iron was rare, some iron kitchen utensils of Edward III
where classified as jewelry, and iron accessories were
preferentially seek by robbers. The name "iron" comes from the
Scandinavian "iarn". Many fantastic stories have been told about
the origin of iron. Some of them say that was iron a gift of the
Gods while others try to describe it as coming from meteoric
sources. However, we do not need this kind of explanation if we
consider that iron can be reduced from several ores present in
Nature. It is told that iron was produced for the first time
when some pieces of ore, used in cook fires, reduced, when fires
were kept long enough. After this, it was observed that higher
temperatures (and wind) lead a better iron. This method was
improved by several tricks until the creation of the furnace.
Iron has been known and used