June 30, 200917 yr Hello. If I am using just mild steel for a spatula blade, would 16 gage work well? Also, when is mild steel at its most springy? When air cooled? quenched? I know it can't get terribly springy, but relatively speaking. be merry, Archie
June 30, 200917 yr Speaking as a regular spatula user I would say that 16 gauge is too thick. Think about sliding under a fried egg or peeling a pancake of a griddle. On the order of 20 gauge is more like it. I must confess that the only spatulas I've ever make were from some 316 stainless that I scrounged. It is on the order of 1/32 inch thick. Thick is out for this item. Weight and balance are also factors. I should add that in Mark Asprey's "Fundamental Skills of a Blacksmith: Vol 1" he gives instruction for making a colonial style spatula. That spatula finishes out with a blade around 1/16" thick. So I guess it kind of depends on the intended use. If it is a burger flipper then 1/16 is just fine. On my stove I like thin and springy. I have a heavier duty one for the grill. Edited June 30, 200917 yr by Charlotte add info
June 30, 200917 yr Thanks for that, Finn I, too, have been wanting to make one but couldn't figure on a good source. bar blades are probably temperable as well
June 30, 200917 yr i use 16 gague for my spatulas i like a thicker less flexable spatula ... been makeing them for many years that way ... they hold up for the long run unlike a lot of the stuff they sell in the stores nowadays... got a few over 25 years old still working fine! god luck!
June 30, 200917 yr I think Finn was referring to hand saw blades and not chain saw---lots of pounding out to get a CS bar thin! 1/16 is 16 gauge in some systems. To use mild steel forge it out close to size, clean and then planish it down the rest of the way leaving a work hardened blade.
June 30, 200917 yr Yupper old run them by hand carpenter's saws that have gone to the great scrap heap! Finnr
July 6, 200917 yr Author Thanks for all the replies! I used 16 gage, and beveled the front edges for easier slip-under-age. be merry, Archie P.S. Edit: I just realized this was in knifemaking, not blacksmithing...whoops. No wonder I couldn't find it after I posted it. Edited July 6, 200917 yr by Archie Zietman
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