Wrought Iron Patio Furniture has a long a varied history. It's a durable and strong iron alloy that historically offered a fibrous look, similar to the grain of bent wood, and was used to produce a variety of items, including tools and weapons. The first documented use of this type of product was in Ancient Rome and China. It was made during the Roman Empire, and in Ancient China as early as the “Spring and Autumn Period” of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (722-426 BCE). It was mostly used indoors. Historically charcoal was always integral to the production of this item. The typical iron forges that reduced the ore were manned by blacksmiths who were occasionally viewed by their contemporaries as wizards or sorcerers. Commercial blacksmiths made fortunes producing chains, nails, rivets, rings, pipes, ornamental ironwork such as gates and, of course, horseshoes.The Industrial Revolution (18th and 19th Centuries) changed it forever from brittle and shatter-prone, to malleable and durable. The 18thCentury witnessed the creation of “Puddled Iron”; a special furnace developed for this process ensured the impurities of the heat source failed to reach the iron. This “Puddled Iron” not only produced stronger, but it could produce larger quantities of it faster. This method was refined by Henry Cort in the late 1700s.
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