Princess auto leaf springs

[Brayden Ostash]

Hey all. I'm looking into affordable, new steel for blade making and I'm thinking about trying the small trailer leaf springs you can buy at princess auto. I am however (obviously) worried about the steel quality princess auto is supplying. Anyone try making anything from something like that yet?

[swedefiddle]

Good Morning,

Obviously you are in Canada, where are you making your shadow? If you add your general location to your Avatar we will know how to answer your question,

Generally speaking a leaf spring is 5160.   .60% carbon, a medium carbon. The time involved in making a Blade, is more costly than the material costs. Better and cheaper to purchase new material. There are an awful lot of trailers across Canada using P/A parts. A leaf spring should be a leaf spring. How you treat the spring will determine your outcome. Take a piece and try different heat treating, find out what works for you.

Neil

[Daswulf]

Is buying new leaf springs cheaper where you are than buying new known stock in what you'd prefer for a blade from a metal supplier? Even If that is the steel you prefer, is it cheaper buying it in leaf spring form than in straight bar? 

People usually just use leaf springs as a scrap metal that works for blades. There are better alloys depending on what kind of blade you are trying to make. 

[templehound]

 

swedefiddle and Daswulf already said it well.

I like to say according to what they wrote

Recycle leaf springs is more expensive than buying fresh stock....anneal, normalize, stress relief and straighten  springs means time, money and effort....and loss of carbon!

If you forge The time you finished you don't have 0.6% carbon anymore ...depending on how good and fast you are....who wants to start with less than 0.6 carbon, which is 

pretty less already.

Better start with fresh stock and the price per kg must be around 3-4 dollars?....in Germany it is about 3.50 Euro....compared to something real good like O7

that has a kg price at about 13 Euros, 5160 is really the cheap stuff....

5160 has lots of silicium for elasticity, Si makes it hand forge difficult and lowers resitance to wear, impact value and machinability ....both needed for a good blade material...

so like another knife maker once said: "....you can make a blade of leaf spring steel but it will not make a great blade.".....he is right, and I say

it will not even make a good blade....if you prefer tough blades that not keep an edge for a minute than maybe it can be seen as a good blade.

but 52100 is tough as well, and 1.1274 and 100V1 and 2552,2550, 2442....all those steels can result in super tough blades if heat treatment and above all, edge geometry

are propperly executed.

Now I fear it will get to railroad spikes?.........just kidding....I hope it will not.

 

Cheers

 

 

[Frosty]

If you buy a flat spring pack and make stock removal blades then new trailer leaf spring will make an adequate blade not great but okay. If you wish to forge blades Templehound is a master at the craft. 

If I wished to forge a spring steel blade I start with coil spring, it's actually much easier to produce a nice blade profile starting with round bar than flat bar. Flat only LOOKS easier but isn't if you want to forge it. 

Buying new blade steel is WAY better choice, you can choose exactly what you need to make what you want and it will be a consistent steel.

Just so you know, while I have made a few blades I am NO bladesmith, not by a long shot.

Frosty The Lucky.