An additional property, that was completely unexpected at the time, was that this new alloy would harden when left to cool in air after forging rather than needing to be quenched.
Mixing was done by Mushet and a few trusted men at his Dean Forest Steelworks with the ingredients being referred to by code words.
Mushet steel was primarily used in machine tools due to its ability to retain its hardness at high temperatures.
After Taylor's tests results were published Mushet and other self-hardening steels became popular in machine tools.
[3] Prior to Taylor's tests Mushet steel was often just used to increase the time between regrinds, take larger cuts, or machine harder materials.