The Ancient and Proud Tradition of Metalworking

Thanks to technology and human ingenuity, today, custom steel fabrication has elevated all of our standards of living, contributing to the creation of all kinds of necessary products and structures. But custom steel fabrication isn’t an easy process – and it was even harder back when we lacked the technology to assist us with the process.

Metalworkers of old used to labour for days and weeks, though it was always a labour of love.

After all, metalworking is a science, art, and hobby just as much as it is an industry and trade. We owe the convenience and functionality of the modern world to millennia of metalworking history, spanning cultures and civilizations.

Since the development of the smelting process, humans have been working with various ores to produce malleable and ductile tools and decorations, including jewelry. In fact, the oldest discovered archaeological evidence of copper mining is from 8,700 BCE, in norther Iraq. In the hundreds of years after this time, the steps for processing metals remained relatively similar – the metals were hammered until brittle, and then heated so they could be formed and shaped into an item.

That being said, only 7 metals were known to ancient civilizations. These were iron, tin, lead, copper, mercury, silver, and gold. Of course, steel is not a metal, but an alloy of iron with varying amounts of carbon content. It took a little longer for people in antiquity to discover steel, though the earliest known production of it still dates back 4,000 years, from Anatolia.

Due to the complicated nature of making steel, it was used sparingly compared to the 7 known metals, mostly incorporated into the creation of weapons. It was considered highly valuable: Alexander the Great was once awarded not with gold or silver but with 30 pounds of steel after defeating his enemies.

Indeed, metals have always had great monetary and cultural value attached to them.

By the time of the Pharaohs in Egypt, the Vedic Kings in India, the Tribes of Israel, and the Maya civilization in North America, metalworkers were becoming highly skilled at fabricating objects of adornments, trade instruments, weapons, and religious artefacts, among others. As time went on, metalsmiths continued to be crucial members of society – the economy and security of entire civilizations often relied on their ability to extract and harness metals.

Today, metalworking is still an established and crucial cornerstone of society. We have had the privilege to utilize technology to enable innovative developments to come out of metalworking, such as custom steel fabrication, fabrication machinery such as mills and lathes, and even laser cutting.

At Baseline Custom Fabricating, we have our own history of providing the best custom steel fabrication services in the GTA for decades. Contact us today to learn more about our services!