of the Bessemer process and other modern production techniques, steel was expensive and was only used where no cheaper alternative existed, particularly for the cutting edge of knives, razors, swords, and other items where a hard, sharp edge was needed. It was also used for springs, including those used in clocks and watches. With the advent of speedier and thriftier production methods, steel has become easier to obtain and much cheaper. It has replaced wrought iron for a multitude of purposes. However, the availability of plastics in the latter part of the 20th century allowed these materials to replace steel in some applications due to their lower fabrication cost and weight. Carbon fiber is replacing steel in some cost insensitive applications such as sports equipment and high-end automobiles. Long As reinforcing bars and mesh in reinforced concrete Railroad tracks Structural steel in modern buildings and bridges Wires Input to reforging applications Flat carbon Major appliances Magnetic cores The inside and outside body of automobiles, trains, and ships. Weathering (COR-TEN) Intermodal containers Outdoor sculptures Architecture Highliner train cars Stainless Cutlery Rulers Surgical instruments Watches Guns Rail passenger vehicles Tablets Trash Cans Body piercing jewellery Inexpensive rings Components of spacecraft and space stations Low-background Steel manufactured after World War II became contaminated with radionuclides by nuclear weapons testing. Low-background steel, steel manufactured prior to 1945, is used for certain radiation-sensitive applications such as Geiger counters and radiation shielding. See also Bulat steel Carbon steel Damascus steel Galvanising Global steel industry trends Iron in folklore Knife metal Machinability Noric steel Pelletizing Rolling Rolling mill Rust Belt Second Industrial Revolution Silicon steel Steel abrasive Steel mill Tamahagane, used in Japanese swords Tinplate Toledo steel Wootz steel References Bibliography Verein Deutscher Eisenhüttenleute (Ed.). Steel – A Handbook for Materials Research and Engineering, Volume 1: Fundamentals. Springer-Verlag Berlin, Heidelberg and Verlag Stahleisen, Düsseldorf 1992, 737 p. . Verein Deutscher Eisenhüttenleute (Ed.). Steel – A Handbook for Materials Research and Engineering, Volume 2: Applications. Springer-Verlag Berlin, Heidelberg and Verlag Stahleisen, Düsseldorf 1993, 839 pages, . Further reading Mark Reutter, Making Steel: Sparrows Point and the Rise and Ruin of American Industrial Might. University of Illinois Press, 2005. Duncan Burn, The Economic History of Steelmaking, 1867–1939: A Study in Competition. Cambridge University Press, 1961. Harukiyu Hasegawa, The Steel Industry in Japan: A Comparison with Britain. Routledge, 1996. J.C. Carr and W. Taplin, History of the British Steel Industry.