People need to stop using mild steel for forge welded projects

I keep seeing guys on here trying to forge weld mild steel to itself and wondering why it falls apart. Mild steel has almost no carbon, so it just doesn't bond right unless you get it perfect. Stick to high carbon or wrought iron if you want the weld to actually hold.

3 comments

3 Comments

the_thea1mo ago

I mean, you're not wrong. I've had way more luck getting a solid weld with a bit of carbon in the mix, even just some old file steel thrown in. Idk, maybe it's just me but mild steel feels like it wants to stay separate no matter what you do.

josephmartin1mo ago

Tbh, I gotta ask @the_thea something about that. You mentioned old file steel thrown in, but are you grinding the scale off first or just tossing it in as-is? Ngl, I've found if you leave any of that crap on there it messes up the whole flux action. Honestly, I've been playing around with a touch of 1095 scrap and it seems to flow way better than pure mild steel ever does. Just curious if you're doing any prep on that file steel before you weld it up.

adamthompson1mo ago

Yeah no kidding, mild steel is basically just asking for trouble with forge welding. You gotta have some carbon in there to actually get the bond to stick. Toss in some 1095 or even an old file and it's night and day difference.