Raimey,

Good for you on purchasing those books.

In the Catalan furnace (circa 700 AD) iron ore and charcoal were charged vertically in the top, resulting in a "loupe" or ball of iron which was "hooked out and hammered into a bloom".
http://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/def_en/articles/steel_collector/early_progress.html

No clue if this type of furnace was still in use during the 19th century in the US. Why anyone would choose such an outdated method?
For more steel making links: http://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/def_en/kap_5/advanced/t5_1_5.html

I just picked up: FIGHTING IRON, A Metals Handbook for Arms Collectors by Art Gogan. It should arrive in about a week.

I was thinking the other day. It would be great if some one developed a simple glossary for some of this. Between wootz, laminated, twist, Bessemer, damascus, etc some times my head spins.

Pete