PURPOSE: To improve productive efficiency by drawing a starting high carbon steel stock to the prescribed dimensional range with the carbon content of the stock reduced to a value lower than that of the final composition by a specific percentage and then performing carburization and diffusion annealing.

CONSTITUTION: In the case of manufacture of fine wires of high carbon steel stocks containing respective specific percentages of Cr, Mo, W, and V and 0.5% or more carbon, the carbon content of starting stocks is previously reduced by 0.2W0.5% lower than that of the final composition. The starting stock containing a reduced carbon content is hot rolled and drawn down to a diameter of 2mm or less. Then, the carbon content is increased by gas carburization and others up to a required value and variations in the carbon content in a wire stock cross section is minimized by diffusion annealing. The productive efficiency of high carbon steel fine wires is increased because of working with a reduced carbon content.