My brother-in-law owns a rental business and has given me a bunch of used and chewed up mower blades.

Are mower blades mild steel?

rvb

No, they should have some carbon. You can spark test and get some idea of basic content.

Rick: Did you have something in mind with the mower blades? They forge pretty easily, though the shape of them makes for limited uses. I think they are in that broad area of "medium" carbon steel. Not tool steel and slightly higher than typical HR A36 stuff.

From another forum, it has been stated many times that altering a mower blade and placing it back on the mower makes YOU liable for any thing that would happen.

Using the blade as scrap metal would seem to be like using any other scrap metal, recycling. Have you tried a spark test?

Well, I didn't have anything particular in mind, but I'd hate to waste the metal. I was thinking that if they had enough carbon I could make punches or something out of them. They are kind of think and long though. Maybe I could create a billet out of each of them to use as touch marks or punching stocks. Someone also suggested making knifes out of them.

rvb


Edit: Quote removed from post

Haven't tried a spark test, but found out they're most likely 1085 from the web site: http://www.iforgeiron.com/Blueprints/BP0002Junk_Yard_Steel/BP002_Junk_Yard_Steel.htm

So that's what? 8.5 points of carbon?

rvb



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No, that is .85% of carbon - less than 1%. Cast iron is only about 4% as I recall, so it doesn't take much to drastically change the steel characteristics.

The mower blades would likely make excellent wood chisels, gouges, draw knives, etc. However, the shape is not good for punches and welding together into a billet is a lot of work. Unwound coil springs make good punches or chisels. The first two tools I made when I started over twenty years ago were a cold chisel and a center punch. They have been used thousands of times to mark or cut steel and will outlive me many times over.

Whoops! Thanks for the lesson. I'm pretty new to this. I forgot about the coil springs. I have to find a junk yard or something around here.

Rick,
I have edited your posts to remove the quotes referring to the post imediatley above your reply. The quote is unnecessary as we just read what you are quoting and there is usually no need to read it again.

If your reply refers to a comment made 3 or 4 posts back, please use the quotes to refresh our memory on what is being addressed. Not the entire post, but just the specific subject.

Please do not take this personally in any way, it is just trying to make the forum flow a little better as it is being read. Thank you for your cooperation and please continue to post as often as you wish.
Glenn

Ahhhh gotcha, Glenn. Sorry. Force of habit. Thanks for the pointer.

rvb