Over 5000 years ago, humans entered the Bronze Age when they melted and mixed copper with tin. This simple combination of metals unleashed a huge technological boom as tools could be made out of this stronger and more durable material.
Copper is a great metal for working because it bends easily. Tin is also a very soft metal. These two metals are great for making shapes, but their softness will cause them to deform easily while in use.
This is why you never see a copper wrench, the handle would bend at the first sign of resistance.
Bronze is the combination of these two metals, and is ridiculously strong! This allowed them to create more advanced tools that also lasted longer. Weaponry followed, as a bronze sword would hold its edge far longer than a copper blade would.
Over the past few millennia, humans have mastered new metals, advancing through the ages until we finally arrived at today, when a single person can build a foundry in a day that is capable of melting bronze in a few hours!
Technology may have improved dramatically, but as I stand by the foundry that is powered by a propane torch, I can't help but feel the wonder that they must have felt when they also stared into the pot of molten bronze.
The cherry glow of the stone around the metal is enticing as the sky reflects on the surface of the liquid metal. It almost looks like looking into a mirror where magical wonders lay on the other side,
As far as we have come with our advancements, there is still something beautiful about the sight of molten metal ready to be cast into the shape of your desire.
