For many years, locksmiths have been able to increase the amount of carbon in a steel bar by using a forge, harmer, and coal. In some cases, they have also used charcoal to achieve the same results. To do this, the locksmiths sprinkle charcoal or coal on an anvil before pounding it. Also, it is possible to forge a weld piece of low carbon, cut it into stack and re-weld it till you get enough layers. The smiths’ man could also add carbon to steel or by buying and mixing it with some high carbon steel before recycling it so that you get a mixture that can be used to make knives. Unfortunately, this method is expensive because more resources are used to get a high carbon steel that actually costs less than the amount of money spend on resources such as fuel used.
The other method that can be used to add carbon to steel is by placing the wrought iron and steeling it up in a coal forge. It is then welded (you can use a good 110v-stick-welder), folded and heated so as to drive out the slag. This is repeated several times until one gets the desired results. Generally, this is a traditional method where steel was enclosed in a refractory with carbon loaded compounds before they were heated for many hours.
Carbon is one of the most important elements in any alloy. When the amount of carbon is increased, it increases the strength and improves the hardness of an alloy. It also reduces weldability since it increases brittleness.
In smelting process, carbon, which is found in coke serves as a reducing agent. When iron is cast into a furnace, it makes iron brittle and converts it into steel with the desired properties. In some cases such as in the foundry application, carbon is added by adding minerals that contain carbon. Minerals such as Ferro Iron, Ferromanganese, and Ferrosilicon could be used depending on the alloy one wants to make.
Carbon is normally added to steel during the second treatment. When carbon loaded coal is added directly to steel and subjected to treatment, the end result is steel with desired levels of hardness.
When carbon is added to steel, it makes the steel become harder and stronger. This is true for all metals. Note that how effective or strong the metal becomes after adding carbon depends on a number of factors such as lattice spacing, the chemical effects of the metal and the amount of carbon that has been added.
For instance, vanadium and titanium may be hardened by adding carbon but could also be made softer or brittle. Making blister steel may require that you put a steel bar in a refractory box and add compounds that contain carbon before you hit it so that it becomes red hot. This process is repeated several times and the resulting blister steel is then used to cut the stacked welded so as to make sheer steel which is always more homogeneous. Depending on the amount of carbon used, steel can be classified as plain carbon, high alloy, and low carbon.