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I Forge Iron

what if its rusty?


AJAX

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hey, do you guys know if i could use metal that is super rusty for making knives? i have an old car spring that i was thinking of using but it has tons of rust. i also have an old car transmission that has some ball bearings that i might be able to use, but i don't know what kind of metal it is. i would just like to know if there is any metal that i can find in common places to use for forging knives. thanks,

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Mompy We can help you along as long as you help us do that. If the steel is so rusty it has deep pits in it I would pass, if it is surface rust no big deal/
Were you able to look over the new knife maker and stickies that are in here? they may help a lot..Also in the bps there is a list of common steels, wot they are and how they are used so you may be able to find them as scrap.

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Common knife steels include

leaf springs
nicolson files
safe edge horse rasps
any kind of saw blade (Bandsaw, circular saw, hacksaw, etc..)

BEFORE forging the knife, do a quench test on the material: Heat to critical, quench in oil. See if it breaks off in your vice when hitting it with a hammer (Wear saftey glasses!). If it bends, then it's either mild steel, or has to be quenched faster. If so, then you might want to try a water quench. If it still bends, you could go to a "super quench" of soap, salt, and water (I believe, could be wrong) and then check that way, but I would stick with easy quenching steels that are high carbon and quench in oil.

Zachary

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If you are tearing the transmission down the shafts, bearings, and bearing races are usually good steel for blades...assuming the bearing are steel.

Rusty leaf spring (or any rusty steel) can be cleaned, and must be cleaned to a certain level before forging or it will make a mess of your forge and not perform nicely. After cleaning it may not be suitable for blades.

Phil

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Then again, the pitting might look really rustic after you're done. If you do decide to make the blade, polish it so it's relatively smooth and then put a patina on it or blue the steel. The pitting might look kind of neat.

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Heat to a low red and use a coarse wire brush on it---hand held *not power*---let cool and evaluate.

When using used springs there is always the chance that a hidden crack exists (particularly if it's a road kill piece as the failure mode is to create many cracks *one* of which propagates and drops the piece on the road...)

I suggest new bladesmiths to take an automotive coil spring and cut it down opposing sides to get ten to a dozen ( shaped pieces and then you can experiment on them finding out how that alloy likes to be forged and heat treated and have enough of it to test to destruction and still have some to make a finished blade from it.

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The general rule of thumb is that if the junk steel flexed, cut, or resisted impact in its previous life, it is probably good steel for making tools. But as others have said, do a quench test to make sure it hardens, and realize it's always a crap shoot as to whether the junk steel is an appropriate alloy and whether it has stress fractures. Some people have good luck using it (I have) and others don't. Automobile springs tend to be a good, cheap source of quality steel to learn knife making with, but they aren't guaranteed to be. Test it before dedicating a lot of time to making something from it.

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Mompy We can help you along as long as you help us do that. If the steel is so rusty it has deep pits in it I would pass, if it is surface rust no big deal/
Were you able to look over the new knife maker and stickies that are in here? they may help a lot..Also in the bps there is a list of common steels, wot they are and how they are used so you may be able to find them as scrap.
what is bps?
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