Iron Sharpeneth Iron?

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Jesus is my friend

Puritan Board Junior
I was trimming my beard earlier this evening,thinking about the thread on beards,which I am enjoying,and it occurred to me that I have never given much thought to a scripture I quote quite frequently.

Proverbs 27:17

Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

I understand,the truth that in fellowship,in lives of faith lived together we are built up and grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ,In a general sense this may be what this scripture describes,but,I'm thinking that Iron is much too soft a metal to hold an edge or sharpen anything,God could have said:"steel sharpens steel" or "stone sharpens steel",but He chose to use Iron,and I might be off on this but,is there a symbolic meaning for Iron as a metal,like brass would speak of judgment.I would be thankful for any help:pilgrim:
 
I take it to mean work hardening of iron. You hammer one piece of iron against another to flatten it, and you can use an iron peen to feather a tempered edge to almost razor sharp.

I haven't tried it, but I'd imagine a piece of work-hardened iron could act like a modern sharpening steel too.

Also, even in ancient times, blacksmiths knew about adding carbon to iron and quenching. It is possible that some form of steel was called iron in those days. I don't know for sure, but it doesn't seem that far-fetched.
 
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