thoramighty Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 How is rebar as a steel for making knives and such items as an item that holds an edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flandersander Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 It seems like a pretty soft steel to me, as its purpose is to improve tensile strength in concrete. Although, having no experience working with this material, i cannot say for sure. Just my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Browne Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 A lot of rebar is just remelt so you don't really have any idea what you have. Each piece needs to be treated on its merit. Some harden, some don't. It is good for practicing on to get the techniques of forging and for articles that don't take any real time to make, like pokers, etc. If you are thinking of spending the time on knives either use coil/leaf spring or old files if you want to recycle. Otherwise, spend a bit of money on a known type of steel and treat it really well, afterall your time is worth a lot. Just my two bobs worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I have been told by smart folks on here that rebar is made to meet specifications for the job it is to be used on. And that is wot determines the make up of the steel. I do not believe that would fit wot we call rebar sold at the big box stores. Knowing that,,Leads me to think that it is a chancy thing to try and figure out whether it will be good for a blade or not. An experienced smith with heat treat skills may be able to sort through some rebar and select some pieces that may possibly work out. I will not take a chance on haveing a knife fail because I chose the wrong materials. To that end I purchase new steels that will do wot i want them to. For new folks there are better choices. First figure out wot yuo would like to work with that will take research on your part. Then you may want to search on here for common steels and how you may find them. for instance if they are not cracked or broken flat leaf springs are at times Good to learn on. And while you are researching figure out wot you will need in the shop to work with the metal you decide on. And of course you need to build skills to be able to make a knife if you are not already at that point. And of course if you use heat you will need to learn about how to heat treat it to get the most out of a blade..It is along journey but worth every effort if you wish to take it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I agree with the previous two contributers. I would add that basically there are four classifications of rebar. Three classifications that have a strength specification and what you find in the big box stores. Rebar with a rolled in specification number will meet the tensil strength spec specified, One of my friends had a piece of rebar that had been forged and hardened as a cold chisel that he used for years with no sign of damage. I've found some that I could not forge weld no matter how hard I tried and some that were as easier than A36. Basically it is a dice roll and each piece needs to be tested before spending any time on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thoramighty Posted July 12, 2009 Author Share Posted July 12, 2009 K thnx I just have a large supply all the time on account of my dad works at a C and D landfill but thats all great advice so thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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