Chris Waldon Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 I've read about and seen various videos about forging knives from railroad spikes. Since I live relatively close to a railroad, I have them in abundant supply. However, I was wondering what kind of metal they are. Also, is it worth the time to work with them as a practice material? I've heard contradictory opinions saying that yes, working with any steel helps you learn technique, and no, working with knife-quality steel is different than working with other metals. (so if you practice with other things first, you have to re-learn everything for the new metal) If you could shed any light on this, I'd really appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 (edited) the spikes labeled HC are 1030 at best, many are less. Most agree that 1045 is a minimum for blades to have a good edge, higher is preferred by most also. As for feel under the hammer, 1030 feels close enough to 1070 or 1095 to get used to forging. and if you have a good supply, I say "Bang away"! welcome to the world of bladesmithing. RR spike are good a place as any to begin, but dont expect a high quality edge from them, no matter what we do, the chemistry isn't there for great cutting ability, but still better than bronze was in the dark ages. Having said that all the various blade steels have different alloy elements, and can move differently under the hammer, so that is also why most suggest starting with ONE steel, and learning it well, before trying others, as we have to relearn THAT metal's quirks too now. Edited April 3, 2009 by steve sells Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Waldon Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 Thanks for that, but that leads to even more questions..... here goes. Alright, here I will begin to sound like a complete novice, but I've got only a vague idea what the 1030, 1045, ect... actually mean. Also, where would I find the HC (which I assume means High Carbon) on the spikes? They're rusted over, and I don't know where to look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 (edited) Short answer: HC is on the head. 1030 means .30 % carbon, 1045 means .45 % carbon content. The 10 in 1030 means the steel is just basic carbon and low manganese non-alloy steel. Edited April 3, 2009 by steve sells error correction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Waldon Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 So, an 1130 would be an alloy with .30 carbon content? Also, when you said "1045 means .045 % carbon content" did you mean .45%? Or is 1030 actually .030%? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 1130 is C 0.30 but the 11 is Resulfurized, meaning added sulfur to help in free machining Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 oops 0.30% and 0.45% respectively or a little less than a third of a percent and a little more than 7/16 of a percent respectively. Eye em bedder with fackshuns :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRT02 Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 RR spikes are great practice, I know it isn't the answer you were looking for but I thought I should of pointed something out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Waldon Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 Thanks for that, I'm gonna mess around tomorrow, try and make some letter-openers or something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 The more you forge the better you will get. Using a consistent material will help learn basic techniques but using a shotgun mix will make you adaptable. Go for consistent first, then go for adaptable. Once you have a good handle on the basics and are getting adaptable is a good time to start messing with tool steels. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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