They did fine with materials, but not the where they are used part, which seems to have misled some folks in this thread
Except for the aluminum compressor blades which I am unaware of. I don't think they would fare well in a sandy environment due to erosion. Also, investment casting, aka, lost wax process, is not used for compressor blades for good reasons. Compressor blades are forged for mechanical property reasons, fatigue strength, grain control, etc., beyond what the investment casting process can produce.
Turbine blades are investment cast because of the high temperature materials now required. In the olden days, turbine blades were forged, but the forged alloys didn't have the higher temperature or the internal air-cooling sophistication capabilities that investment cast turbine blades can provide made with ceramic cores, forming the intricate internal cooling passages. Investment cast turbine blades can be produced with random equiax grain control, directionally solidified grain control or as a single crystal where the entire turbine blade contains no grain boundaries.
Fan blades have been made for many years using titanium alloys and forging processes. Today fan blades on newer engines are being produced using composite materials to reduce weight, improve strength and improve resistance to foreign object damage (bird strike, etc.).
Hope this information is helpful as the articles referenced left quite a bit to be desired and are misleading in some instances.