Most likely, for the first time the person has got acquainted with meteoric iron. Forging was applied even before smelting iron from ore development, forgings from meteoric iron made manually for thousand years B.C.  Method of iron from ores production had been invented in the western Asia in 2nd millennium BC. After that iron use spread in Babylon, Egypt, Greece. Homer (in the "Iliad" 23rd song) tells us that Achilles has awarded the disc throwing competition winner by iron bloom disc.

From an antiquity forging (copper, native iron) served as one of the basic methods of metal processing (cold and then hot forging in Iran, Mesopotamia, Egypt in 4-3 thousand BC; cold forging at Northern and South America Indians to 16 century AD. Ancient metallurgists of Europe, Asia and Africa forged puddling iron, copper, silver and gold; smiths enjoyed special respect at the antiquity people, and legends surrounded their arts.
The first subjects from iron, always were appreciated very highly and stored in temples among the most expensive treasures or placed in tombs of powerful governors. One of the most ancient finds is, for example, an iron dagger of king Mieszko-lamshara from the ancient Uru, referring to the middle of the III millennium BC and found among gold cups, jewelry, musical instruments and separate details of golden armor.
Products relating to the beginning and middle of the Bronze Age are found not only in remote areas, but also in Central Europe land layers.
In area Forvalde (northwest Germany), an iron ring has been found in rich burial place; an iron plate from tomb near to Aveyron (France) is known, an iron pin has been found in rich tomb in Seddine near Stendhal on Elba (GDR). Recent excavations in Czechoslovakia also have yielded important discoveries, in particular a dagger handle found in Ganovtsah (Northern Slovakia).
In Europe and Ancient Russia for many centuries iron was obtained by bloomer process.
Iron ore was heated by charcoal in the forge arranged in a pit; in forge by blacksmith’s bellows was pumped air, recovery product — bloom - by hammer blows was separated from slag and various products were shaped from it.
In the Middle Ages forge business, and in Russia too, had reached a high level: were hammered manually cold and fire-arms, tools, details of agricultural tools, doors and chests, lattices, fixtures, locks, clocks, etc. products of every possible forms and the sizes, frequently with the most thin details; shod products were decorated by notch, slotted or relief pattern, hammered to a thin layer by leaf-gold and a bronze sweat sheets.
Medieval craft traditions were saved in folk art to 19 century (lighting fixtures, hooks, candlesticks etc.). In 15—19 centuries many remarkable shod lanterns, fencings, lattices, gate (Versailles, Petersburg, Tsarskoje Selo) are executed.
Many cities specialized in various branches of forge craft: Herat, Mosul were famous for utensils. Damascus, Milan, Augsburg, Gerstal, Tula —for arms. Nottingham, Solingen, Pavlovo on Oka —for knifes and tools.
Nuremberg, Kholmogory — locks, etc. In 19 century handmade art forging has been superseded by stamping and casting, interest to it has revived in 20 century (works of F.Kjuna's in GDR, of I.S.Yefimov and V.P.Smirnova in USSR; companies, interiors designs in Tallinn, Kaunas and others).