Great questions. What time period are you specifically interested in? Steel production of course changed over time. If you are speaking more about medieval blade production I can answer some of your question. As far as I know the Solingen smiths were not using any type of crucible steel. The starting product would have been bloomery iron/steel which would have been refined to remove slag and consolidate. Japanese blades are another example of exceptional quality blades (not always, but often) made from bloomery smelted iron. The keys to their success lies in their attention to detail while selecting the ore, controlling the bloomery fire, selecting the pieces from the bloom with the right carbon, precise folding to remove slag, and careful treatment of the steel and control of the process for every step after. I imagine that the Solingen smiths were similar masters of the processes they chose to use to take the iron from ore to finished product. They of course had a different type of construction and temper in mind for the end result than Japanese smiths did, but a good result would still require a similar level of care and knowledge.
For some history on iron production in Europe I would recommend "THE KNIGHT AND THE BLAST FURNACE, A History of the Metallurgy of Armour in the Middle Ages & the Early Modern Period" by Alan Williams. It's a good read for anyone interested in metallurgy and steel production history.
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