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The above images are of a renaissance style railing. The straight rail is along the back side of a walkway. This is a copy of one done in the 18th century, in Italy. The scrollwork is 1 by 1/8 flat stock. At this era they had learned to roll steel bar and it was all the rage. I prefer hal inch square, since it give a stronger image against the blank space. There were also some additional scrollwork to comply with modern building codes.

All scrollwork was done red hot. The advantage is that when steel is bent cold there is tension put on it and there are micro-cracks that form in the cold metal. The cracks allow rust, since the paint is unable to enter, and oxygen can. The original rail is still in use centuries later, and this one can be also.

Also not in the below picture how it is being assembled. The metal is not only done hot, but the welds are mostly forge welds. This forms the two pieces into one piece without any was for rust to enter. Modern welds are usually put on the edges, then tried to grind smooth. The grinding takes off most of the weld, and between the edges (where paint can't reach) rust can form.

The following images are a fabricated rail with a forged piece in the middle. The forged piece is half inch round stock. I feel that this gives more of a look than putting finials on top of the rails. Also it gives a smooth surface to take a better coat of paint. The top and bottom are 1" square, 1/8" tubing. If I used punched stock and put on the about the same cost of finials there would be little "wounds" bleeding rust. (I am somewhat obsessed with rust, the natural predator of steel.) These are examples of some items I do for other fabricators.