What can I make with 1/8 flat stock steel?

[FrostByte]

I have a good length of 1/8 thick flat stock, about 8ft long I got from my job for free and I wanna make a sword or something out of it but I didn't know if that would be thick enough for anything but maybe a long knife or something like that so I was wanting some ideas of something I can do with it.

Note I am new to smithing so i may not get technical terms.

Thanks in advance.

[Steve Sells]

What type of steel is it?  Also I suggest you read

 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Welcome from the Ozark mountains. Like Steve said, the type of steel will make a big difference in whether it makes a functional sword or knife or just a wall hanger. If the folks on the job where you obtained the steel can't tell you the type of steel (mild or high carbon) then the only way to tell is to test it.

To do a test, cut off a short section about 3 inches, called a coupon. Heat it in the forge to critical non magnetic and quench it in water. Then to test take a good (sharp) file to see if it will cut into the steels edge. If the file "scates" it is at least hardenable. Then clamp it in your vise and give it a good wack with the hammer. If it snaps off take a look at the end grain, take some pictures and post them we can probably tell if it will make a knife. You could do a spark test too.

If you are close drop by my shop and I'll help you ID it although mystery steel is always a crap shoot. Most scrap yards will be able to scan it and tell it's composition. If you are near one of the Blacksmith Organizations like ours the BOA or Missouri BAM, you could take a couple coupons to one of their meetings. Also scroll down to the Metallurgy sub-forum and start reading the sticky's.

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sails. ~ Semper Paratus

[George N. M.]

Welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming.  Glad to have you.

Generally, most steel around is low carbon steel because it is used for everything except when something needs to be springy or hard.  So, it is the cheapest material which will fulfill the requirements.  Mild steel will not harden.  So, it is poor material for anything with an edge like a sword or knife.  It is great for making things like wall hooks, candle holders, fire place tools, etc., etc..

You can also spark test it by touching it to an angle grinder or bench grinder.  You can look up much more detailed instructions but, generally, low carbon steel will have just straight line spark tracks.  The higher the carbon the more there will be secondary and tertiary burst in the spark stream, like little sky rocket bursts.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard FrostByte, glad to have you.  1/8" x ? It's width makes a big difference. Unless it's hardenable it's not going to make a sword or forged blade unless you welded it into a thicker section then forged it down.

If it can be hardened and is wide enough, say 1 1/2"+ you can make quite a few stock removal knives. Grind them to shape and dress them to suit. Some folk turn their noses up at stock removal but even forged blades involve quite a bit of stock removal to finish. You have the guard, handle, pins, etc. Lots of excellent blade making experience making stock removal knives. AND you get to keep, give away maybe sell what you  make. With any profit you make you can invest in tools and equipment say a 2" x 72" belt grinder, bargain basement around $500-$750 and up into the thousands. Clamps, vises, etc. etc. Start with single cut "draw" files, sanding blocks and sharpening stones. A few clamps and light hammers and build from there.

If you want to be a bladesmith it's work, lots of work just to build the skills, it may be a couple years before you forge a blade worth selling. It is there for you though IF you want to put in the time and effort, soon you'll be putting money in and if you stick to it it WILL start coming back and you'll be able to build a proper knife shop and if you're lucky and good a business.

Finding a piece of steel and forging a blade is a fantasy. A good one for sure but your results will likely be so disappointing you'll find something else to do and the world might miss out on a world class bladesmith. What to do with 8' of 1/8" x ?"width steel? If it's 2" wide you can learn to make hinges with decorative chisel work. If you can make a nice wooden box you could turn it into a hope chest or trunk with hand made hardware. Hmmmm?

Lots of cool stuff to do with it but 1/8" is sort of a specialty thickness used for strapping and such. A 20' long stick of 5/16" round hot rolled A36 (mild) will run, I don't know around $20 maybe more it's been a while since I bought steel. 

Iforge has a section with good beginner's projects so you can build skills and make useful beautiful things to give friends and sell.

AND we'll be here to help you along. Blacksmithing is fun, you must play with fire and hit things with hammers! does it get better than that? Hmmmm?

Frosty The Lucky.

[BillyBones]

Frosty, i just went a couple weeks ago to my supplier and got some 12' long 1/2" square 1018. I bought more than one obviously so it was a bit cheaper when buying bulk but out of curiosity i asked what the price for just one stick would be and it was $23. So going with that i would guess that a 20' would be around $40. So guessing that 5/16" round is about half the weight of 1/2" square, $20 provably isnt that far off. 

[Frosty]

Yeah, that's a pretty close estimate, I'd load my wallet based on it. Though in reality I'd call the supplier first if I was after more than one or two sticks. The guys I buy from will cut to haul free as will virtually all the places I've bought from. Just DO NOT ask the guys at the counter, too many places MUST charge per cut.

The yard hands just whack it for you its not even out of the way. Two places stack your buy on the cold saw to band it, flipping the switch and pulling the lever makes their life, 1/2 the weight, easier. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[FrostByte]

Hey guys thank you for all the information I have been playing with the steel a bit and I have been busy with work and the girlfriend but what I can tell you for now is it's 2inch wide I have to heat it and quench it to see about the hardness since it's mystery steel it was used I guess as extra support that was screwed into some old shelving but it's already pretty hard my files don't really bite into the steel that well but more updates to come and I did cut out a knife from it just need to hear it and see about the hardness.

[Frosty]

Was it a new sharp file? Old files are often too dull to be useful for even ballpark hardness testing.

Frosty The Lucky.

[FrostByte]

They were new files. Some harbor freight specials.

[Frosty]

Experiment with heat treat on small coupons so you know how it behaves, what works and what doesn't. cut some short slices, say under 1/2" per slice and cut those in half, 1/2" x 1" is a nice coupon size. Heat ONE to critical and let it air cool, then clamp it in a vise lay a cloth rag over it in case it shatters and give it a sharp smack with a largish hammer. If it bends mark it and not what you did and the results in your notebook. A notebook is a must if you want to remember what worked and for what. 

Then proceed through the various quench medial you have starting with the slowest, warmed oil, then cold oil, thin oil say ATV, then fresh water, warm or cold. and finally brine. As you're testing down the list you may get one media that makes the coupon snap off when struck. Make note then quench a couple few more in the same media. and start trying temper colors until you find what you like.

If even a cheap new file skates you could very well have something worthy of making blades but NOT if you can't control it's hardness.

Frosty The Lucky.

[FrostByte]

I'll play around with it hopefully tomorrow if I have time since it's my day off and will update. Thank you for all the info I appreciate it!

[Frosty]

You're welcome. Frosties have to stick together you know. 

Frosty The Lucky.