multi-use wrench

[Pault17]

I was toying with the idea of making a "glorified letter opener" and one of the guys in the mig class I am taking got real interested. (I got the idea from golden-eagle in the monthly challenge.)

I found a Craftsman 15/16 combo wrench in one of my bins and thought to work it over. Mind you, I have never really worked any high carbon or alloy, sticking mainly to mild. So, this was a first.

I straightened one of the claws and removed the other one. The whole thing was about 18-20 inches had a really nice balance. My friend wanted to leave some of the name on the handle so it would be authentic. I llike the fact that you can still read the "forged in USA" on the back.

The thing is like a mini machete. I forged to shape, normalized, filed, brought to non-mag, and quenched. did not temper :0

sorry for the blurriness.

[pete46]

Oh Yea ,i Like It!
Have You Used It To Cut Or Pry Anything?

[Pault17]

Nah, I brought it in to the welding class and gave it to my friend. Several of my older children thought it would be a great turkey carver.

Idea... knife and fork set made from a set of wrenches, for that mechanic friend of yours...

[pete46]

That Single ,mech. Friend!

[Golden_eagle]

Good turkey carver? I made my wrench knives are 2-4in blades! the one in monthly challenge is a 13mm! That things GIANT!
i have a 15/16 here in front of me 11in long before forging! Paul. you have taken the art of tool mutila- re-usefulantion(just coinned this term: to take an already useful tool and turn it in to a new tool) to the next level.... *nods solomly*

PS:I got the thought from "cutlers exchange no. 134.556.321.321.472.153.274.365.42" and more notably "Northern tool and equipment" Stainless Steel Wrenchware

[ThomasPowers]

wrenches are usually medium carbon not high; you want them tough not brittle! Better alloy than RR spike for knives though!

For my gasser I took the wrench that fits the propane bottle fitting and forged the opposite end down into a dinosaur face---it's my tyranosauraus wrench! I always know which on it is too.

[Golden_eagle]

Chromium vanadium steel actually... vanadium is a carbide stabilizer, also It has good resistance to corrosion by alkalis, sulfuric and hydrochloric acid;

Chromium (Cr) has a tendency to increase hardness penetration. Chromium can also increase the toughness and wear resistance of steel. Probably one of the most well known effects of chromium on steel is the tendency to resist staining and corrosion. Steels with 12% or more chromium are referred to as stainless steels.... toss all this together an it makes a rather rust/corrosion & wear resestant knife. I now actually perfer C&V steel over your normal run of the mill stainless steel.

[pete46]

How Hard Is It To Work & Temper?

[Pault17]

Pete,
I worked it at a light orange to orange heat and wailed away with my 4-lber for about an hour and a half, including re-heats and working on several other little things. knowing that the carbon content was probably lower than hi-C i probably could have super-quenched it to get it hard.

The biggest amount of time was drawing out a flattening the fork/head of the wrench. It was easier than working coil spring though.