Is iron the ONLY ferrous pure metal, while every other ferrous metal is an alloy?

Question

I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around classifying metals. So far, I’ve seen two divisions:

1. Pure metals and Alloys

2. Ferrous and Non-ferrous

But I haven’t exactly seen a source that takes both classification divisions into account. Sources keep saying ferrous metals contain iron, so is iron the only pure metal that’s ferrous? Is iron even a ferrous metal? What about the other magnetic metals like nickel and cobalt?

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

Are you thinking of ferrous as shorthand for “magnetic?”

Because while that’s useful for most applications, ferrous metals aren’t the only magnetic ones. Nickel and cobalt, which you mention, can also be magnetic. Heck, rare earth elements like neodymium makes the most powerful magnets.