July 19, 201510 yr have access to endless supply of scrap steel of varying shapes and sizes...how do i identify exactly what i have?
July 19, 201510 yr Exactly what you have is going to cost into the thousands of dollarsGood enough for blacksmithing can be done with a grinder---see the spark test and or the quench and break test. There are also lists of items found in the junkyard and what kind of steel they *MAY* be; I haven't seen such a list without at least one glaring error. Also a manufacturer can change what they use 3 times a day if it suits them. I've even run into a leaf spring that wouldn't quench harden so definitely not 5160 Edited July 19, 201510 yr by ThomasPowers
July 19, 201510 yr That is what I do at work. I look at the materials list for the day, and see what machine it is running on. That way I know exactly what I am getting.
July 19, 201510 yr I always try to match my scrap steel by what it was used for in it's previous life along with the spark and hardening tests. If it was used to cut, it can be used to cut again. If it was used to take heavy loads and still flex a bit it is good for tools.
July 19, 201510 yr Author its all tooling steel (stainless) i work at a injection molding plant and all the steel i get is from the molds, ejector rods, thompson rods, tie rods and the likealso get alot of used blades from large part grinders, really hard, used to grind plastic car parts back into reusable pellets Edited July 19, 201510 yr by senstrom
July 19, 201510 yr H-13 from mold ejectors is a high trading value steel great for chisels and punches and other tooling that gets buried in red hot steel. Ask the tool and die folks what they were using!
July 19, 201510 yr H13? No; but you should be able to trade it for better knife steels with no problems!
July 19, 201510 yr bummer...thx for the info tho, greatly appreciatedI don't see the 'bummer'. You can save some for yourself for tooling. And should have no problem trading the rest to other smiths in exchange for good quality knife steels.
July 19, 201510 yr Bummer? "Hey folks I've got solid gold and I'm upset it's not silver!" What alloy do you want for blades and what H13 do you have to trade?
July 19, 201510 yr Bummer? "Hey folks I've got solid gold and I'm upset it's not silver!" What alloy do you want for blades and what H13 do you have to trade?lol! I don't think he quite understood what you were telling him at first. Or he doesn't think there's anyone close enough to him to trade with maybe...
July 19, 201510 yr Author lol...point taken, anyone want to do any trading? Edited July 19, 201510 yr by senstrom
July 19, 201510 yr Again; what do you want? I have 1084 and 1095 back at my shop; but it will be a couple of weeks before I'm visiting home and I'm sure some folks are eager and may not have a supply already---I bought some at Quad-State last year
July 19, 201510 yr If you can get word from the folks that work on the machines, and can say that it is for sure h13 or the like, yea, I'd be open to a trade. Can't assume that everything is H13, though. Stainless steel comes in a lot of varieties.That piece on the far right has caught my eye and I'd be curious to know the dimensions. I could see it being a slitter chisel or drift if the size is right and it's H13 or similar.
July 19, 201510 yr Author will have to trust your opinion on what is best for bladesmithing as i am new to this
July 19, 201510 yr Ok best thing to start would be to hold on to your trading material and perhaps take it to Quad-State this fall.To get started bladesmithing go get an automobile coilspring and cut it down the sides on two opposite sides giving you a pile of ( pieces that are all the same steel. Treat it like 5160 and you will probably be real close.This will allow you to practice a lot on the same alloy and get the forging heat treat and destructive testing down pat for that steel. Edited July 19, 201510 yr by ThomasPowers
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