Kicking off a new series of blog posts from Austen Knapman is a question we see asked time and time again: What is mild steel?

Mild steel – also known as plain-carbon steel – is probably the most commonly found steel material on the market. A ferrous metal, it is composed of iron with carbon as the alloying element, a composition which keeps the price relatively low while retaining properties which make it appropriate for most applications.

Mild steel contains 0.16-0.29% carbon, making it a malleable and easily fabricated material. Though it has a comparatively low tensile strength, the surface hardness of mild steel can be increased by heat treatment if required, and it is a popular choice of material in structural applications or wherever large volumes of steel are required.

A benefit of the high carbon content which is championed by many fabricators is ductility, which makes mild steel extremely easy to cut, drill and weld to suit any project. Not only an ideal choice of material for building roll cages and frames, it is also hard wearing enough to act as a very effective edging material.

We stock mild steel in many forms to suit almost any application, and all of our products are delivered cut to size to eliminate wastage. For more information on the types of mild steel lengths we offer please visit our main website.


Post By Marc