A Railroad spike knife

[Jack Evers]

I did not make this knife and I know nothing about it. If it was heat treated or not. Some tenants left it in my rental house. I do however like the work and the shape. It is an HC spike, which I understand has less than 1/2 the carbon we might like. It is quite soft, a couple strokes with a rusty file put a pretty good edge on it, I refined it with a stone, took it to a barbeque where I cut the meat off a small well cooked chicken and it was dull - visible edge. I'm thinking of just an aggressive quench, like brine or even super quench. Would that make it a somewhat reasonable light duty knife ?

[jmccustomknives]

I would never consider any knife made from a RR spike good for any thing but something to look at.

[thingmaker3]

Aint't but one way to find the answer to your question: Get some brine and some ice and...

[Jack Evers]

Will do

[Chinobi]

As they say, it's not proper blade material, but it can still harden enough to make it more difficult to file than un hardened. That hardened layer is also pretty thin so if you put a traditional bevel on it from both sides you might end up grinding off the hardened exterior and exposing the softer core as your actual edge (think reverse san mai). A single sided bevel will ensure that the working edge will always fall within the marginally harder skin of the opposite side. Results may vary with the exact makeup of that spike and the actual blade thickness. These are just some of my observations/notes/advice I have received from classes in rail spike cutlery and the ubiquitous 'viking' style belt knife, utilizing A36 and superquench.

YMMV :)

[windancer]

Super quench will add a little surface hardness but it will never be a knife.

Dave

[Frosty]

I would never consider any knife made from a RR spike good for any thing but something to look at.

 

They make fine letter openers for practical tools.

 

I believe they're so popular sale items is everybody knows what a RR spike is and looks like so the transition into another easily recognized tool is obvious. Even though they make poor blades without a bit welded in a lay person can see the before and after, touch it and use it.

 

I've found RR spikes make good stock for a number of mundane items simply because it doesn't take an expert to see what said item was made from. It's prof positive it was made by a "real" blacksmith.

 

Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Dan C]

Granted the steel is less than the desired level of carbon for edge retention, but I made one for a friend for hunting on his request.  I quenched the blade in straight ice water and then baked it in the oven at 325' for an hour to relieve any forging stress.  At this temperature the blade did not change color at all, so it's not tempered at all.  My friend has since used the knife to gut and field dress a hog, which have very tough hides so he was pleased with how it performed. 

 

My personal preference is to forge weld in a bit of old file or other tool steel into the cutting edge but my experience with the HC spikes has been a functional knife, just expect it to not retain the edge as well.

[WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith]

I have made quite a few Rail Road Spike Knives and have won the past two "Best Rail Road Spike Knife" contest at the Batson Blade Symposium.  I always quench in SuperQuench.  I also make knives from half a horse shoe (which are A-36 with a maximum carbon content of 29 points)..  My wife carries a Case Equine Special and I have to sharpen her Case more often than I do my RR Spike or Horse Shoe carry knives.  I do forge to shape then do finish grinding then heat treat.  Robb Gunter, the inventor a SuperQuench, in demonstrations will make a chisel from mild steel (A-36), harden it in SuperQuench then use the chisel to cut the parent stock.  It is pretty amazing stuff.

 

Now I am not saying that my RR Spike knives or Horse Shoe knives have as good of blades as the knives I make from 5160 or 6150 but they are better than lots of people think.