There are a couple auto wreckers in town that have loads of spring steel lying around, but they have random piles of the stuff and only god knows what leaf spring came from what car or truck. How would I go about having it tested and where could I get it done? Is there a way I can test it myself? Say if worse came to worse and I ended up unknowingly forging a piece of 4140 or 1050 or some other steel that was not 5160, would it be so bad? I've heard that even 4140 will make a decent knife. Is there any specific steel that may have been used in leaf springs that would for sure not make a good blade? If it looks like a knife...cuts like a knife....holds an edge well....and is tough as nails....does it really matter what steel it is specifically? If I test it thorougly and it performs the way I want it, should I just call it good?
I know this isn't the proper way to go about things and I should just stick with the "known" steel, but sometimes it seems like such a waste having all that good steel lying around and doing nothing with it. I like the idea of recycling and I make blades that would be called "primitive" anyways. I know even Wayne Goddard forged a blade he thought was 5160 and it turned out actually being something else....it still made a good blade though. Actually, he even gave a list of all the different possible steels used in leaf springs in his book The Wonder of Knifemaking.