Where's the Wootz?

[urbanspaceman]

Sweden was primarily famous for its 'Oregrounds bar iron' which was very pure.
'Newcastle' steel, traded from the late 1600s into the 1700s, was produced by William Bertram in the Derwent Valley (Ca.Shotley Bridge) and recognized as the finest steel available anywhere.
He was known for using the 'German Method', which isn't surprising considering he was born and raised in Remscheid before moving to Wira Bruk, then Shotley Bridge after marrying a Swedish lass.
At its finest, it was almost too hard to work, and Sheffield tool-makers, when manufacturing shears for the fabric industry - 'Shear Steel' - complained... asking for a softer product.
The Bertram family descendants were producing "The World's Finest Cutlery" as late as the 1970s under the Hen and Rooster label.
Naturally, William was buying his bar-iron from Sweden and supplying the German smiths in Shotley Bridge with their steel; hence my knowledge of him.