Metal
Iron bloom
Iron ore → Iron bloom → Wrought iron → Axe
Picture to come.
The spongy lump of iron produced in a bloomery furnace, where iron ore was heated with charcoal, the fire forced with bellows, until metal particles fused together without melting. The bloom was full of trapped slag, so a smith reheated and hammered it to drive out impurities and consolidate it into workable iron, or billets for trade.
Sources: historicengland.org.uk
Made by
- Smelt a bloom
- Smelt a bloom from dressed ore
Used to make
- Hammer iron