Steel is not found on the periodic table. To a more accurate stand point, it is a metal alloy or a combination of other elements. The primary make up of steel is iron. Iron is commonly found and it is found as iron ore which is then smelted and put into a cast iron. The cast iron is then refined with other minerals that is desired for the finished alloy. The most common element that affects the hardness is carbon. It will not only increase the hardness, but it will or possibly will make it more brittle. The effect of a low carbon content is that the blade might be extraordinarily strong, but it will be unable to hold a sharp edge. The opposite of would be more of a brittle blade and possibly hard. A fun little fact is the element content is signified as a point. A point is 0.01 percent of an alloy. For example, a 7 point carbon alloy will have about 0.07 percent of carbon. A couple common elements used in a metal alloy are Carbon and Manganese. Carbon has the most influence than other element used. Steel for example couldn't exist without carbon. Carbon will altar the strength and hardness dramatically by the slightest changes. Manganese is normally present in all steel and functions as an deoxidizer. Deoxidizer is really an interesting way of saying to remove oxygen. It also gives strength and responsiveness to any heat treatment.
I believe this article is very important to anyone wanting to be a blacksmith. The information is only important to specific audience like myself who is interested in metallurgy, but it may serve a guide in blacksmiths or people who want to become a blacksmith. The article also gave much information and I found it very interesting.
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