The Armour Archive

Hi, I'm new here!
Figured I'd advance from maille to plate.

What is the difference between cold rolled steel and hot rolled? What should I choose, what's the pros and cons?

Thanks in advance!

Cold rolled mild steel is hot rolled mild steel with one more thing done to it: it's had the black oxide scale removed and it's been rolled to finished dimension without being further heated. It's steel-colored, and the final rolling has slightly workhardened it so it's a bit stiffer right from the mill.

Hot rolled still has the black oxide on it and is a bit softer, so it's a little easier to work at least in the first stages of forming the stuff under hammers. It's been rolled to dimension while it's still red hot. Because of its heat, it'll be rusty-dark in color. It takes a bit more to finish it because you take the oxidized layer off yourself. Since it's less processed, if you're buying new steel it's a little cheaper, at least in bulk orders.

Thanks