High carbon steel

[Derek H]

Wasn't sure where to put this.

 

I am new to knife making and so far have been using railroad spikes for practice. I have called several of the local steel suppliers but none of them have any kind of high carbon steel.  Everything i have found online is ether to thin to be used for forging or is really expensive.  So my question is, where does everyone get their high carbon steels from?

 

I really want to start making some decent knives.  

 

Thanks for the help

[Rich Hale]

Knife suppliers

[jmccustomknives]

Admiral steel, local sources, junk yards (car springs-5160), old files, ball bearings, and many other places.  A blacksmith tends to develope a "magnetic" personality.  People find out what you do and bring you stuff.

[doc]

Try here..........http://newjerseysteelbaron.com/

[Steve Sells]

I try to avoid Admiral when I can because they do not always send what they advertize. ya wont know what they are sending until after you get it. NJ steel baron aka Aldo is first rate

[jmccustomknives]

I try to avoid Admiral when I can because they do not always send what they advertize. ya wont know what they are sending until after you get it. NJ steel baron aka Aldo is first rate

Thanks for the heads up.  I've bought from them and got what I ordered.  That being said, other's experiences are good to know.  I'll have to give the jersey folks a look too.

[son_of_bluegrass]

I'll second (or third or whatever it's up to now) Aldo, the NJ steel baron.  I ordered from him the last time I was looking to get steel (I don't use a lot as I don't have as much time as I'd like) and was impressed.

 

ron

[nc_cooter]

AAA rating for ALDO.

[Derek H]

Thanks everyone. I am going to try to order some in a day or two. I'll post pictures of the results. Thanks again for the help

[christian]

Being as you are just starting making knives I'd say just go to the local junk yard and find some springs or saw blades or files or ball bearings or wheel bearing races (not sure if that the right name) there is a lot of different types of high carbon steels you can get for scrap prices from local junk yards. and all you have to do is find out exactly what they are. For example ball bearings and wheel bearing races are 52100 steel a good stainless(?) steel very good for knives, however it can be a pain to work with some times. and if you happen to find something that is a little to high carbon steel you could also get it and try your hand at forge welding and forge weld it with a lower carbon steel to make a unique damascus of your own. and speaking of damascus you could always get crane cable and forge weld that together to make cable damascus which is a very good knife making steel. So for a starting bladesmith personally I wouldn't spend all the money for the specific high carbon stuff when you could just get stuff you can be 95% sure of what it is and that make knives that will preform just as well as the other steels.

[Rich Hale]

I think another way,,I think a new smith is wise to  develop good steel working methods first,,then move right to good steel,,the last thing they need at this early stage is to have failures while trying to figure our wot to do for heat treating a mystery steel,,,a good 10 x steel is eay to work,,treat etc and increases likelyhood of making a nic eblade, and pric emay be less that a trip to a scrap yard or three and maybe even coming home iwht nothing usable.

[gearhartironwerks]

When on a budget, leaf springs are a good place to start. Imho, rarely do they fail...and I've been pretty good at messing up some perfectly good steel.  :)

Rich is correct in using new steel. I couldn't afford to pay the price when I started, so looked for alternatives, and leaf springs were readily available.

For a source, try a junkyard, or better yet, if there is a spring manufacturer in your area, contact them and ask if they sell rems...most do. The steel will be new and will most likely be 5160.

John

[Derek H]

Rich, i agree with you. I would rather pay a little extra for a known steel with a specifice heat treat rather than having to guess at what it is and hope i got right. I have been told that leaf springs are supposed to be certain metal but can sometime vary even with a certain make and model if a car. That being said, i can get leaf spring stacks of any size (and their are some big ones) or coil springs for $18. I can get axles for $20. I snatched an axle out if a ford 9 inch the other day that i am currently attempting to make a knife and a hot cut hardy out of.

[Rich Hale]

An axle makes good shop tools but does not have enough carbon for knives,,,if wot I have heard abouit its carbon content is correct....

[Derek H]

Rich, thanks for the hint. I was under the impression that it was somethig like 4160. I need to do more research. I wonder if i could call ford and get any kind of specs.

This sight has been a ton of help getting started. Thanks everyone.

[FredW]

I have used a lot of old springs and while most are suitable steel i found a lot of them had imperfections in them. I had a lot of cracks show up while forging them. I also heat treat unknown spring steel like 10 series or 5160 and i have had some not harden up like i wanted as well. Can be a pain for someone just learning. 1080 steel is fairly inexpensive and good steel for blades. contacting a spring shop is a great way to go. My brother in law gets 5160 drops from one in KC area by the 5 gallon bucket full, usually free. At the least you would probably only have to pay scrap price.

 

Fred