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These are the required elements for making steel:
- Iron
- Carbon
- Manganese
- Chromium
- Phosphorus
- Sulphur
- Nickel
- Molybdenum
- Titanium
- Copper
- Boron
Source: https://www.cliftonsteel.com/education/11elementsfoundinsteel
So, iron is only step 1. Humans are carbon based lifeforms, so I'm guessing that carbon is also sorted, that's step 2.
There's plenty of other elements in the human body, like phosphorus and sulphur, but I'm guessing that it's going to take more than 300 adults.
Source: https://sciencenotes.org/elements-in-the-human-body-and-what-they-do/
Source: https://sciencenotes.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/PeriodicTableHumanBody.png
Yes
Someone else did the math, accounting for waste made during forging. https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-gaming/blood-iron-sword-myth-explored/
This is extremely helpful, and fits perfectly into my secret plan
Secret plan
I will use this info as background for a BBEG in my TTRPG game
This is the MVP-comment! Thank you for that source!
Fucking awesome, exactly the comment I was looking for in this thread
Steel requires only iron and up to about 2% carbon
Rest are minor alloying elements used mainly in modern steel alloys to improve the steel beyond what just carbon steel could do like for example stainless steels
- Your link says these are elements commonly found in steel, not that they are all required. In fact it says of phosphorus and sulphur that they are generally undesirable.
- We don't need to make a steel sword, an iron sword could do.
Either way you would definitely need carbon, but as you say that's pretty easy. I don't think any of the other elements are absolutely required.
Those are all of them, but that's for a lot of different types of steels. You don't have to have all of those metals to make steel. You really just need iron and a tiny bit of carbon. A few of your ingredients help with purity, and the rest are additives for different steel properties you may want. Like a touch of nickel for stainless steel.
I searched for ingredients for making steel. I'm obviously not a metallurgist, nor do I pretend to be one on the internet :)
The meme triggered my interest into discovering just what might be involved.
Clearly I've just scratched the surface ..
This thread is giving me massive deja vu. I'm pretty sure I read almost this exact thing six months ago.
Beep boop are you a bot?
Me, nope, just bored.
You only need iron and carbon the rest is already alloyed steel. You can definitely make a good blade out of only iron and carbon, it won't be stainless, it might be difficult to harden just right, but it will be flexible and hold a keen edge if forged right. The smiths of ole dealt with nastier steels containing all kinds of things making it worse, not better (such as excessive amounts of sulphur and phosphorus) so I'd say they'd manage.
Well, the non-metals and Manganese are way more available than iron anyway (probably molybdenum too). But it will be really difficult to create high-quality steel.
