Cast iron
Cast iron is made from pig iron, which is the product of smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Cast iron can be made directly from the molten pig iron or by re-melting pig iron, often along with substantial quantities of iron, steel, limestone, carbon (coke) and taking various steps to remove undesirable contaminants. Phosphorus and sulfur may be burnt out of the molten iron, but this also burns out the carbon, which must be replaced. Depending on the application, carbon and silicon content are adjusted to the desired levels, which may be anywhere from 2–3.5% and 1–3%, respectively. If desired, other elements are then added to the melt before the final form is produced by casting.
Malleable iron
Before the widespread use of malleable iron in everyday items, heavy-duty bench vises were made from cast steel. The use of cast steel has rapidly declined in most application due to its poor castability, and hence high-quality cast vises (as opposed to forged ones), among other tools and machine elements, are now almost exclusively made of malleable iron.