The white powder used in forging is borax. Borax is a chemical stripper used to make forge welds. When sprinkled on hot steel, borax powder forms a protective layer on the contact surface and absorbs impurities almost instantly while avoiding the risk of oxidation. Borax is also used to manufacture damascus steel, where it allows for clean and solid welds that can resist bending and deformation operations. Other fluxes used in blacksmithing include silica sand, mud daubers nest, roach proof or boric acid, Depot Flux or anhydrous borax, ezweld, forge borax, iron mountain flux, and crescent weld.