Hi Guys:

I recently got my hands on a 3' long section of tugboat tow wire from my job. I want to try my hand at forge welding a short piece of a single strand into a pattern welded billet and make a small knife and also try etching.

The wire certificate states the wire is 2" dia 6x37 EIP IWRC  -- this scrap is non galvanized (unlike most tow wires). There is some surface rust - but also tar/grease that will burn out.

So I get from research - EIP - Extra Improved Plow Steel    IWRC - Independent Wire Rope Core

EIP links i looked at show it to be somewhere between 1065 to 1085 steel.

Is this worth a try to practice on? - or am I wasting my time and should look for an easier piece of steel ??

1065 and 1085 are simple steels and shouldnt be to hard to weld, but you know how that goes. I know that Steve and others do "cable demascis" so they should have a beter "gues" tho i would do the "standard" scrap tests, and as the core may be diffent from the sheath i would test it to. 

Extra improved plow steel would make a good blade. If it isn't galv all the better. 

Can you find the manufacturer? I buy mine direct from MacWhyte and the guys in the lab are more than happy to take a phone call to discuss the metallurgy behind their wire rope.. Stay away from the sales departments, they often just want to know how many spools you want to order and when you start asking about carbon/element contents they deflect by asking about your intended application - which in all fairness is their job, but how many customers ask how much manganese is in wire rope? Most customers want to know they can sling 20 tons or that it'll pull 200,000 lbs in x conditions at y distance and salesmen are loaded with info like that, but not necessarily the why behind it. Otherwise I think it's worth the welding practice and I sell a few knives a week made from cable.

J