100 year old barn hinges

[Mike Propst]

I recently came across some really old hinges from an old barn door. Are they any good for making them into a knife or hatchet?

[swedefiddle]

Good Morning Mike,

The short answer, probably No. The steel a blade of any sort is made from requires a certain amount of Carbon content. Think of Steel as 'Vegetable Soup', the contents of the Soup control the taste of the Soup. The percentage of Carbon in Steel, controls the ability of the Steel to be Hardened. Hardening Steel makes it Brittle, Tempering Steel takes some of the Hardness out and makes it tough (not brittle).

If you add to your avatar, where you are making a shadow, you may find someone here who lives close to you. Finding a Mentor is way better than 'the School of Hard Knocks'. There are no secrets, just that you need to learn what questions to ask!!

Enjoy the Day, above the Earth. Play Safe!!

Neil

[Goods]

Mike, if you are really set on using the hinge as a knife you could use a san mai technique or insert an edge of high carbon steel. Neither are beginners skills, but not super difficult. (Somewhere around my first year of smithing I forged out a pretty decent wrought iron hatch with a spring steel bit and pill. I actually found making the drift more difficult… of course, I joined an active blacksmith community and spent a lot of time absorbing information here and that helped the initial learning curve dramatically.)

What is your current experience? Any skills with scrap steel type identification? 

I’m not trying to be condescending, just not sure where you’re coming from.

Keep it fun,

David