Thread: Almost tried damascus with the wrong steel

I recommend that you are certain of at least 2350 F before attempting this. It's possible to forge weld below that recommended minimum, but it would require big tools to make up for the lost degrees.

The carbon content of O1 averaged against cold rolled mild steel would give you about a 1050-1060 carbon content if you wanted it but it requires some calculation.

1095 against O1 improves the carbon averaging considerably but you may lose contrast between layers if you use that mix. 15N20 is commonly available and gives good contrast without worrying about carbon content. See if you can find some.

RR track spikes are (have always been 1030 steel after 1898) good for nothing but forging practice or whatever mild steel can do.