October 27, 200916 yr Hi all. Still working on getting or making the right tools for the job.... Tried my hand at a RR Spike tomahawk, then realized I don't have anything to make the hole for the handle to go in... So I used another RR Spike. Went through the hot spike pretty well, but it made me wonder.... 1) would this be a drift or a punch? 2) is a HC RR Spike considered Tool Steel? If not, what would it be? So many smiths use RR Spikes for stock, just wondering if it's the quality of steel, or the ready availabilty? David
October 27, 200916 yr I think I'd call that a slitting chisel and as with many punches or chisels you can use the shank of the tool like a drift though it would not be called a drift. HC railroad spikes are still just slightly higher in carbon than mild steel... so NO not tool steels... though you CAN make a tool with them. For my punches and chisels that will be called upon for hard and repetitive use I use old cold chisel or star drill or pry bar stock. All of these work well for me but I tend to like the pry bar steel the best. Mild steel or railroad spike steel is fine for many purposes though. Many smiths use 4140 steel for most of their tools but most tend to choose more durable steels for their heavily used tools. IMO the reason for the widespread use of railroad spike steel is that railroads are pretty nearly everywhere that people live and their track beds are literally littered with old spikes... PLEASE DON'T pull out the ones holding the tracks down (even if they seem loose... as they will in dry weather)... I only say this because I have seen where some people HAVE done this and it could cause a TERRIBLE accident.
October 27, 200916 yr 1) would this be a drift or a punch?If you drive it all the way through the iron and it drops free, it's a drift. Else, it's a punch.2) is a HC RR Spike considered Tool Steel? If not, what would it be?IIRC the specs call for a maximum of 0.3% carbon and 0.2% copper. Not tool steel, mild steel. It's not what a lot of knowledgeable people would consider a good choice for a blade since it won't hold a very good edge. However it is slightly better than the copper-alloys used for a long time before steel became widespread. If you really want I suppose you could lay in a bit of high-carbon steel, though mild steel is certainly adequate for 'wall hangers'.
October 27, 200916 yr Well a punch removes metal, a drift moves metal and a slitter cuts and moves metal Tool steel is generally high carbon or high alloy steel. so 1095, W2, etc are tool steels But as you have noticed cold steel is a lot harder than hot steel and may people use non-tool steels for low use "tooling". Edited October 27, 200916 yr by ThomasPowers
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