one_rod Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 You guys keep on showing all these really great rail spike knives on this forum. You know what? You cannot get rail spikes in this country! Our railways have never used them, and besides it's against the law to walk on the land alongside railway tracks. But where there is a will there is a way. So I found a couple of M16 x 180 High Tensile bolts, and "did the best I could with what I'd got........" Not quite the same, but fun anyway. one_rod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristopher Skelton Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 Technically it's illegal here, too. In my area the law gets enforced because teenage kids go to the beach, get drunk, play on the tracks and die when a train hits them or runs them off a trestle. No one ever blames the kids or the parents- it always results in the railway having to put up more signage, drive slower, add more fences, etc. No one ever thinks to check the beach for underage drinking... anyway... Now that that's out of the way excellent work on the "former fastener" knives. I really like the overall polished look and the twist at the transition area is a nice touch (usually the handle is twisted but smooth near the blade). Any guesses on what the carbon content is? How was it to forge out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meco3hp Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 Hello, If you wanted I could UPS you some spikes to give you something to play with, I got plenty of them. Heavy, but you'd be the only local smith with with a small handful to play with! All I'd need is the cost of shipping from you to do it. Let me know what you think. Also McMaster Carr also sells them.http://www.mcmaster.com/ Oh, nice looking knives you got there! I like the second pic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Zietman Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 The second one is beautiful! It is much nicer looking than many of the spike knives I've seen on the net. Keep it up, and make MORE! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julian Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 That's what blacksmithing's about--if you dont have somethin, substitue it with something else! Very original, I like it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolano Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 I like them. Better than most spike knives. Especially mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one_rod Posted January 7, 2006 Author Share Posted January 7, 2006 Technically it's illegal here, too. In my area the law gets enforced because teenage kids go to the beach, get drunk, play on the tracks and die when a train hits them or runs them off a trestle. No one ever blames the kids or the parents- it always results in the railway having to put up more signage, drive slower, add more fences, etc. No one ever thinks to check the beach for underage drinking... anyway... I think our railway laws date back to World War II, when there was much concern about German secret agents sabotaging the tracks. Although with some trains hitting 200mph these days I don't really think I would want to walk near the tracks, even if I could. Now that that's out of the way Any guesses on what the carbon content is? How was it to forge out? It forges like a typical medium to high(ish) carbon steel, harder to work than mild steel, but no problem, even to a smith of my limited ability. Sparks like one too, on the grinder. I believe that bolt manufacturers add all sorts of alloying elements to their steel to make sure it meets the minimum strength spec. to be classed as High Tensile. This does not seem to cause any problems, and H.T.'ing them like a standard toolsteel seems to work fine. Thanks for the positive comments, I might try a few more now. one_rod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J W Bennett Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 one_rod Very nice, I believe you've started something here. I know I'll have to try one. :mrgreen: JWB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce wilcock Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 ,rail spikes were used in the uk for quarry and light railways,i saw some last year at the Vivian slate mine in north Wales, but the rail spring clips holding the flat bottom rail in the chair, will make knives, and most of the small hand tools you will need as well, scrap yards in the Doncaster area will fit you up . lads come up here every year from Yorkshire anchor forging so i keep in touch ,there will be a anchor forged around Easter,this year,if you can use a hammer, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Gold Posted January 8, 2006 Share Posted January 8, 2006 Very cool! I'll have to play with this as well -- I certainly like the look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one_rod Posted January 8, 2006 Author Share Posted January 8, 2006 ,rail spikes were used in the uk for quarry and light railways,i saw some last year at the Vivian slate mine in north Wales, but the rail spring clips holding the flat bottom rail in the chair, will make knives, and most of the small hand tools you will need as well, scrap yards in the Doncaster area will fit you up . lads come up here every year from Yorkshire anchor forging so i keep in touch ,there will be a anchor forged around Easter,this year,if you can use a hammer, Thanks for the information, Bruce. Those old slate mines are amazing places aren't they? Make you realise just how hard some people have had to work to make their living. Coming to Shetland to help make an anchor is an incredably tempting idea. I have not worked with a professional smith since I did my rotation through the "Hot Shop", when I was an apprentice fitter, nearly 30 years ago. When you say "forge an anchor" how big are you talking about? Brings back all sorts of memories. Being one of four gawky teenagers standing around an anvil the size of a small car, striking in turn with 14 pound sledges. Praying the job would cool enough to need to go back in the forge and give us a few minutes break. At the time we could not wait to get out of the place and get into the welding or machine shops. Nowadays I think I would view the whole experience a little differently. Lack of funds / spare time means that easter is definately out. Do you do these things any other time? Might be seriously interested later on in the year. Any excuse to visit Shetland is a good one. one_rod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce wilcock Posted January 8, 2006 Share Posted January 8, 2006 One rod the anchors we forge and weld are 1/4 ton aprox the last one 6 cwt ,if you give me a post adrress i will send you a dvd of last years ,the ones filming olways seem to disappear when we need them but thay got most on film, alot of that work is like watching paint dry,and we used some local fiddle music and that is a good excuse for going deaf,the idea of the dvd was to help pay for the coal , Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWE_Karl Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 one_rod: just want to say that the knife Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolano Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 On the topic of railroad spikes, and the availability of, I was at my local scrap yard yesterday. There was a 50 gallon drum FULL of them. I checked through a bit, and I didnt find any high carbons, but it was still an interesting thing to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Ahh your RR laws come from a kindler gentler period then. The ones in the US date back to the RR "Robber Barons" and early labour unrest like the Molly McGuires and are draconian though usually not enforced. The RR Police have powers that the local police forces would be forbidden by the US constitution... Unfortunately due to the possibility of terrorism the RR are being much more heavily patrolled and even folks just train spotting have been hasseled so be carefull out there! Thomas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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