Cdworks Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Would spring steel and mild steel give enough contrast to make damascus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgirard13 Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Wouldnt make a good blade. Spring steel doesent forge weld easy due to the chromium content and it would be a pretty soft blade due to carbon migration and because mild steel isnt a very high carbon steel. You would make a low-mid carbon blade if able to forge weld it. I started off with pallet strap and old bandsaw blades and got good contrast and good quality blades Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Yates Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 CD, The term spring steel refers to a group of medium-to-high carbon, low alloy steel products which exhibit excellent yield strength. The term yield strength refers to a material's ability to endure significant bending or twisting and return to its original shape without deforming. Spring steel stock alloys typically include silicone in their composition and are hardened and cold rolled after casting to improve yield strength. Spring steel products are generally either cold drawn as wire or punched from flat stock. Typical uses include saw blades, tape measures, helical springs, and vehicle suspension elements. Spring steel alloys feature the unique characteristic of being able to withstand considerable twisting or bending forces without any distortion. Products made from these steel alloys can be bent, compressed, extended, or twisted continuously, and they will return to their original shape without suffering any deformation. This characteristic is defined as a high yield strength and is the result of the specific composition and hardening of the steel alloy. Spring steels are medium-to-high carbon content alloys generally featuring a carbon content of 0.5 to 1.0 percent. The other alloy additives typically include manganese and silicone with silicone being the key component in high yield strengths. So YES Spring Steel Is a Good Blade material and a addition of wrought iron would make a significant showing in the patten in pattern welded steel (AKA Damascus) However you failed to identified the type of Spring steel you intend to use ... IE Leaf spring , Ultra High Carbon Spring Steel , or Such So with out knowing what you are specifically speaking of it is hard to give you the correct response . Samuel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothBore Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 I don't intend this as a "critique" or to be "judgmental", ... but the original question immediately struck me as being indicative of the fundamental differences in perspective, within the Blacksmithing Community. For me, ... Form will always follow Function. While I appreciate the "artistic" aspect of ironwork, my attitude is always of a Pragmatic, rather than Artistic nature. That being said ..... I realize that today, the money, and interest, is in ornamental and decorative ironwork, rather than toolmaking and fabrication. So, ... for that reason, the original question is probably of greater importance, than any issues regarding the "proper" steel selection, necessary to create a "best" quality blade. In reality, no modern day, hand forged blade, will ever be subjected to rigorous use. My advice, is to go ahead and make it "pretty". The resulting "low carbon" blade, will be easy ro sharpen, ... and will open letters just as well as any other ..... . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThorsHammer82 Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 um... There was no mention of a blade in the OP... The blade part was assumed. SO, I'll ask, For non blade making purposes, Would spring steel and mild steel make enough contrast for damascus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinobi Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 I dunno about that SmoothBore, take a look through some of the threads in the blade forum here. I know StormCrow (just to cite one member/maker off the top of my head) produces and offers blades that have been purchased by navy seals, marines, and other members of the armed forces and have been taken on tour in places like Afghanistan. pretty sure those have been tested to survive extreme conditions where lives can depend on that blades performance. I think the disconnect might be between solid blades and pattern weld, but I don't know enough about the performance of pattern weld to be able to comment myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Good point and once again we're spending time trying to answer a question to vague to be answerable in any specific. If all a person wants is good contrast in a pattern something of a high nickle alloy is good. I've gotten nice results by adding Canadian quarters and dimes but their jingle money has followed the US in lowering it's value so it's a check the date issue. Still, you can get nickle sheet, foil and mesh and nickle welds nicely. I have some metal cutting band saw blades that should do nicely in pattern welded blades, good contrast in the high nickle alloy and quality cutting steel. Then again, if a fellow is looking for blade steel there's a bunch of info in the blade section of IFI and I believe lots in the sculpture section for decorative. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinobi Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 haha, true story frosty! I was planning to use a Canadian 'brass' coin in a stack of mokume and im really glad I decided to give it a quick massage on the belt grinder and found out it was plated! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cdworks Posted August 6, 2013 Author Share Posted August 6, 2013 Ok this was not intended for blade purposes. Just form and practice. It's a mild steel and a wire rolled spring steel ( from a window balance) I happened to have some mild round stock that would fit in the middle of the spring. So I welded it up and soaked in muriatic over night... No pattern. I may need to grind a little deeper to get pattern but not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 If you take samples pieces, clean and etch,,,then compare it will give you a clue as to wot you will see if you forge weld. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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