Things Were so Much Simpler Back Then!

One of the great things about the ongoing research, development and progression in the field of steel is that we are increasingly able to define and control the properties of the metal, allowing us to create and manipulate a product with a specific purpose. Each individual use for the material can have a product controlled and perfected for the task.

At West Yorkshire Steel we pride ourselves on being able to navigate the seemingly endless steel grades, sizes, quantities and mechanical properties to allow our customers to have as simple and straightforward an experience as possible.

Some people must undoubtedly feel that the world of steel is more complicated than it needs to be; it’s apparent that firms have always tried to make sure the client always received the correct material.

One such example comes in the form of an old tool steel book relating to the ‘Hydra’ tool and high-speed grades. The book is around a hundred years old and goes back to a time when the majority of steel orders would be completed by telegram. To place an order, the telegram code was used, which is by no means a simple process. Code words were used in orders, with a word for the number of bars, e.g. 1 bar is ‘Nabin’, 2 is ‘Nabb’ and so on, with different codes for up to 100 bars. Seeing as telegram companies charged by the number of words in the message, the codes helped to save cost.

The image below shows how trying to make the ordering process streamlined for the benefit of the customer’s purse can lead to an apparently overcomplicated order sheet.

These days, we are quite specific about the steel grades, quantities and uses of the steel that we offer, as there is definitely a right tool steel for the job. The ordering process is much more explicit, as emails aren’t charged by the letter and the more information we have, the better the process will be!

However, if anyone wants to go ‘totally retro’ and send us an order for ‘Iron, Manchester, Expressit Nagby Suhritesk, Tenuto’ we now have the guide to decoding and make sure you get what you order!