>>152
You can use a forge to melt metals, however ferrous metals are pretty hard. However the dimplest alloy, carbon steel is easily made and can be made with a simple campfire, charcoal and an airtight fireproof container to hold the it and the iron to be carburized. It is a simple process that has been used almost since the introduction of iron.
However the rate of carburization is extremely slow, it's something like 1/64th" per hour and the carbon isn't uniformly spread through the metal. So the casehardened iron is then folded over and forge welded a few times to even everything out.
>actual autism like a forge would
You can forge weld inch thick pieces of steel together with nothing but a heap of charcoal, a forge, and maybe a little sand as a flux.
However when you have steel that has things like vanadium, chromium, magnesium, it get's harder. Chromium especially, it forms an oxide layer that most fluzes can't deal with and can give you a very poor weld.
>>154
The picture you posted isn't of a blacksmith but of a farrier. The two hold very similar jobs, but a farrier typically works with forging and shoeing animals. At best you could say that ferriers are a subset of blacksmiths like nailmakers or swordmakers were.