jmrtn8 Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Well I was trying to look all over the internet on where to buy steel or where to get it online. I know you can use a leaf spring as steel but, I want to use different steels other then 5160. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 What specific type steel do you want? New or pre-used? By the way, leaf spring ARE steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrtn8 Posted March 27, 2011 Author Share Posted March 27, 2011 1095 or 9260 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksnagel Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Hey there jmrtn8, Welcome to IFI. I would suggest that you look in your local yellow pages for steel suppliers. Or you can check out local scrap yards, some are still selling to people. Also if there are any businesses that work with steel in your area. Near me is a small truck body manufacturer that has pieces that are too small for them to use. A business like that around you may sell you the cutoffs rather than sell it as scrap. Like Glenn said, and I know you know it, leaf springs are steel and make great knives, tools and what ever else you want. Talk to auto repair places, auto salvage yards, etc. There are plenty of places to find steel if you start digging around. Put in your profile where you are located. Chances are there is another blacksmith in the area that can point you in the right direction. RR spikes, when obtained legally are great for a lot of projects. Give us an idea of what you want to make and that will enable someone here to help point you in the right direction. Lots of people here with tons of knowledge to help. Good luck in your search. Mark<>< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason @ MacTalis Ironworks Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 I am fairly certain Admiral Steel carries 1095 for a reasonable price... Unfortunately here in Cleveland, OH we don't have any steel suppliers that carry anything except the more exotic tool and alloy steels. Though I did find out that Uddenholm has a location here, so I have a great supplier of 15N20, and happily, a friend has about 3 tons of 1085 drops from the KaBar factory when he worked there years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Check out McMaster Carr for small amounts of steel. It may cost more per pound, but when you start figuring cut charges, shipping, etc it may not be that bad. McMC carries 1095 flats, don't know about your other alloy. A local spring shop may have 1095, and will generate drops that you could use. When you need to know exactly what you are working with you need to go through a supplier. Scrap yard steel can be a crap shoot on mystery metals. Back in CA when I had my shop I used PDM, Castle Metals, Ryerson, and other big steel suppliers. The tool steels that I have now came from machine shop auctions, or shop scraps. I now have A2, D2, S7, O1 in rounds, and bars. This material was pennies on the dollar, and some was free. Check with local tool and die shops (if you have any) for scraps, or the possibility of having them order you some material when they get their next order. I know when I placed an order if I had enough weight I could get free delivery, or a better price from the supplier, so this my be a win win for both of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 1095 is a wonderful steel and I use it for knives. I do not make swords but a lot of the folks that do and post on here have said that 5160 is good for swords. Maybe a little bit of digging around on here will give you more information on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connor bachmann Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 I'm in the middle of forging a sword from a high grade of rebar. It works well, and despite rumors, it has a consistent carbon content. You could try carburizing wrought iron into blister steel and folding it like damascus. You could also pile a few files and weld them into a billet, then draw it out into a flat bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 9260 would work, 1095 is a lot more carbon than I like to have in a sword. Admiral sells both Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 First of all WHAT COUNTRY ARE YOU IN? All the answers given are pretty much for the USA and not as helpful in Europe, Australia, South Africa or any of the other places that we have smiths regularly post from. May I suggest you add your general location to your profile so answers can be tailored to your location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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