Carbon steel melts across a range of roughly 1,425°C–1,540°C (2,600°F–2,800°F). It’s a range rather than a single figure because carbon steel is an alloy, not a pure metal — the exact melting point shifts depending on how much carbon the specific grade contains.
Why It’s a Range, Not a Single Number
Carbon atoms disrupt iron’s regular crystal lattice, and that disruption changes how much thermal energy is needed to break the structure down into a liquid. The practical result: the more carbon in the steel, the lower the melting point.
Low-Carbon vs. High-Carbon Melting Points
| Carbon content | Approximate melting range |
|---|---|
| Low-carbon / mild steel (≤0.3% C) | ~1,480°C–1,540°C (2,696°F–2,800°F) |
| High-carbon steel (0.6%–1.5% C) | ~1,425°C–1,480°C (2,597°F–2,696°F) |
For reference, pure iron melts at 1,538°C (2,800°F) — the upper end of carbon steel’s range sits just below that, and adding carbon pulls the melting point down from there. One source gives more granular data points — a 0.5% carbon steel at approximately 1,397°C and a 0.7% carbon steel at approximately 1,347°C — but those specific figures come from a single source and haven’t been cross-verified at that precision by the other research channels. Treat them as illustrative of the downward trend rather than as verified benchmarks.
What This Number Doesn’t Cover
Melting point isn’t the same as the temperatures used in forging, casting, or welding — those processes each have their own heat-input requirements that are lower than the melting point (welding, for instance, only needs to melt a localized area, not the whole part). This article covers melting point only; it doesn’t extend into process-specific temperature guidance.
Comparison to Stainless Steel
Carbon steel’s melting range runs noticeably higher than stainless steel’s. For the stainless-steel figures and what drives that difference, see What Is the Melting Point of Stainless Steel?
Related reading: What Is Carbon Steel? · What Is the Melting Point of Stainless Steel?
