Crucible steel describes a number of different techniques for making steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 in a crucible

Crucible

A crucible is a container used for metal, glass, and pigment production as well as a number of modern laboratory processes, which can withstand temperatures high enough to melt or otherwise alter its contents...

. Its manufacture is essentially a refining process which is dependent on preexisting furnace

Furnace

A furnace is a device used for heating. The name derives from Latin fornax, oven.In American English and Canadian English, the term furnace on its own is generally used to describe household heating systems based on a central furnace , and sometimes as a synonym for kiln, a device used in the...

 products. Crucible steel has aroused considerable interest for well over a thousand years and there is a sizable body of work concerning its nature and production.
Various methods were used to produce crucible steel.