SRT02 Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I have heard that if you get a coil spring from a car and heat up to red hot, you can uncoil it and you have great metal for knives and such. Is this true? because I have tons of this stuff all over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Yes they can make quite nice knives; some of them may have problems with stress cracking if they were abused in their previous life. They are a common material we suggest beginning knifemakers use to get use to working high carbon steels (though such springs are often a medium carbon steel). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRT02 Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 Great! I might do some playing around with a few of them. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tech413 Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 They also make good punches and chisels. I've made some from springs and they work great! Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRT02 Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 ooooo, I need a few punches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetalMuncher Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 I have made a few knives from coiled auto springs. They will hold a good edge if heat treated right, but when I spark tested it...it looked almost like iron! But it seems like good enough steel. Some people have said that it is 5160, but it didnt spark like it. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisfrick Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 (edited) The knife in my avatar is 5160, made from the right, rear main leaf spring of a '65 ford pickup, 7 1/2" blade with an 11 1/4" overall length--takes and holds an edge really nice. I'm able to chop up seasoned oak, bamboo, chicken, beef, carrots, prune my apricot tree and can still shave hair with it (okay, it's more like pulling the hair out by scraping, but it does hold a good edge given the abuse I can put it through). I have heard that most U.S. auto manufacturers used 5160 and it was pretty much standard on the vehicles using leaf springs from the '50's to the '60's and then the auto makers started experimenting with other alloys. (at least that's what I've heard--could be totally wrong.) I have also heard that the newer vehicles are using some rather nasty elements such as selenium (again, could be totally wrong), but they're not really consistently 5160 anymore, which would explain some coil springs *not* spark testing like 5160. And yes, you can heat the coil springs, unwind them, and make blades--may or may not make *great* blades, but you can get enough material out of one spring to make a dozen knives and if the material doesn't hold up well, the only thing you've lost is the material--you've gained valuable experience forging them! Edited April 4, 2009 by chrisfrick grammatical errors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbaknife Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 If you get one like this you can make LOTS of knives! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy seale Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 wow what a spring.......just a little larger than a clutch spring on my old pan.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triw Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 KBAKNIFE where did you get that spring? That has to be one of the biggest I have seen. I though the ones I got from the railroad were big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRT02 Posted April 4, 2009 Author Share Posted April 4, 2009 Wow, thanks for all the info! Man, that is a HUGE spring. Any idea of what it is off of? It'd be fun to know! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TASMITH Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 I have seen springs almost that large that came from the base of a ten thousand pound LASCO hammer. The Lasco hammer itself sits on large springs in the base to help absorb vibration from the hammer. I would think a spring that size would be from something similar or maybe even from the base of a larger Lasco hammer than the one I am familiar with. Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRT02 Posted April 5, 2009 Author Share Posted April 5, 2009 That spring is HUGE!!!! Wonder where it came from.... I love to see stuff like that! Whoops, already replied.... Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetalMuncher Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 Dude! Where did that spring come from? Its huge! Might even be thick enough for tomahawks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbaknife Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 I got three of those springs. They were to go in the base of some huge hydraulic cylinders but were off-spec. and headed for the recycle dumpster! A buddy of mine works in a plant that manufactures those cylinders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORZ Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 just an advice: dont quench it in cold oil, i made my chisels,and punches of coil spring, and by quenching in room temp. fluid they cracked. by heating up the oil were everything ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecart Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 I have some smaller coil springs that came from the resaw at the mill where I work. I tried to straighten one of them recently and it split along the length of the spring. I was told by a friend that I should try to anneal the springs before I work with them. What do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbaknife Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 I have some smaller coil springs that came from the resaw at the mill where I work. I tried to straighten one of them recently and it split along the length of the spring. I was told by a friend that I should try to anneal the springs before I work with them. What do you guys think? The only way you could straighten them is while they are above red and into the orange-hot color range. Annealing is irrelevant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecart Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 I probably let it get too cold then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOK GmbH Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Wow, thanks for all the info! Man, that is a HUGE spring. Any idea of what it is off of? It'd be fun to know! Hi, I am Michael from Germany. I am a owner of service company for forging equipment. If you need some information about this do not hesitate to contact me. I have some springs in my plant. Michael:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Over time I've collected a lot of road kill spring. When looking at coil spring I've notice a number of cold shuts at the points of failure. Just a little FYI. When you pick up a broken spring, discarded, it is always a good idea to ask your self why it failed or was discarded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julian Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 yes car/truck springs are usually 5160 and are great for tough and durable knives. I've been able to uncoil much smaller springs, but not the truck ones. I just chop off knife-sized sections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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