Abstract: A mold pin insert for a high quality mold such as an optical quality injection mold for molding intraocular lenses, contact lenses and the like, is fabricated from a high quality rolled steel rod whose impurities are concentrated within a longitudinally extending central region of the rod surrounded by an annular relatively impurity free region. A slug is cut from this relatively impurity free annular region and is then heat treated to the desired hardness and machined and polished to the desired outside diameter to form the pin body. Finally, one end face of the slug is turned to form a mold face of desired shape or contour and to reorient the grains at the face in a circular direction about the longitudinal axes of the body, preferably using a cutting tool which produces a built-up edge before the tool, and the face is polished to finish the pin.