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Work hardening of mild steel
Q. My Brother and I are in disagreement about something. He says that there is no way to harden mild steel. I say that all metal work hardens. I agree that there is no way to harden mild steel in terms of heat. but if you bend a piece of mild steel back and forth it is going to get brittle and break...........someone else needs to explain this to me either way.
Ronald L HippsKnife maker - Dubois, Pennsylvania
2004
A. Yes mild steel work hardens. Some people refer to steels such as 1050 1060 etc as mild steel, these can also be hardened by heat treating(to a certain extent). Even with work hardening a low carbon steel(such as 1010) will never achieve a high hardness like 61rc but will still harden more than its annealed state. I think all steels will work harden...but not all "metals" will work harden.
-jason aube (also a knife maker :)
Jason Aube- Flint, Michigan
2004
A. Yes, mild steel can be hardened without work hardening.
Here is a link to an article on this subject: www.lametalsmiths.org/news/robb_gunter.htm
I have used this quenchant and it does work as Mr Gunther says.
Steve
- Clinton, Illinois
2007
A. Mild steel can not be hardened but you can carburise it (case harden it to a depth of 1 mm). This can be done by heating it and then dipping it into Kasenite. Case hardening does not get to the core or change the molecular arrangement of the entire work piece. In short yes mild steel can be hardened
Eng Farai Gutu- Shurugwi, Zimbabwe
April 17, 2012
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