Steel is more or less classified by its inherent carbon content. High-carbon steel is traditionally used for fashioning cutting tools and dies because one of its distinguishing features is great hardness. Steel with a lower to medium level of carbon will typically be reserved for metal sheeting for use in construction, due to its increased hardness and malleability.

There are additional types of steel alloys which prominently feature carbon. Alloy steels, are composed of iron, carbon and any additional element(s) that grants the alloy specific qualities. They are:

 Aluminum steel – visually very striking and downy with a high tensile strength.

Chromium steel – Strong, dense and highly malleable; this alloy finds use in automobile and airplane construction.

Nickel steel – One of the most commonly used alloys; possesses no magnetic properties and possesses the tensile strength of high-carbon steel but lacking its frailty.

Nickel-chromium – Used in constructing armor, a very shock resistant alloy.

Stainless steel – An English born alloy, it is extremely strong and resistant to most scuffing, deterioration and oxidation.

 There are additional alloys with even more interesting properties and uses out there in circulation. It might be interesting to note that at least 85% of all the steel used in the United States is in fact Carbon Steel; in other words, it’s everywhere.

Related product: High carbon strip