The main reason why building engineers might prefer aluminum material over other materials is because of its lightweight and high-machinable properties. This allows them to come up with varying sizes of profiles that can be found across many types of building mediums.
Hand-forged ornamental iron was the first type of steel fencing dating back to the early 1800’s. Individual parts were hand-forged in iron shops, where the steel was heated at high temperatures and formed into shape by a black smith. Forged metal is extremely durable but due to the process involved of forging each part takes a considerable amount of time to make which drives the cost up. Today, this type of fencing is extremely rare with very few craftsmen making this type of ornamental fencing.