Experimental knowledge is important and not to be dismissed.
“That said, our ancient – or even medieval – smiths do not understand the chemistry of all of this, of course. Understanding the effects of carbuzation and how to harness that to make better tools must have been something learned through experience and experimentation, not from theoretical knowledge – a thing passed from master to apprentice, with only slight modification in each generation (though it is equally clear that techniques could move quite quickly over cultural boundaries, since smiths with an inferior technique need only imitate a superior one).”
https://acoup.blog/2020/10/09/collections-iron-how-did-they-make-it-part-iva-steel-yourself/