material for larger blades

[Sammy Mickel]

Hey guys, I've seen the killer bushies and other large blades lately and have been wandering where you find the material. I have seen where leafspring steel has been mentioned several times. Is there a certain model or make vehicle to get the off of?

[Raymond Richard]

Sammy, I'm not real sure as far as what year but I'd think most any American made car or truck that was made before 1980 you would have better luck getting one that was 5160. I've heard some leaf springs are 1084 but don't take my word on it.

[Sweany]

Chevy

[Mike Routen]

Sammy,

Thanks to the advice I got on the bladeforums, I found a local spring repair and manufacturing shop and gave them a call. Found out that they sell their scrap 5160 for $10 "for all you can carry".

So, I went down there and found that they have three very large bins of pieces that have been cut off of the large stock when the springs are made. I ended up with 10 pieces of 1/4" or slightly thicker material that ranged from 2" to 3" wide and 1' to 3' long. Weighed around 40lbs.

This stuff has not been hardened yet and seems to be pretty nice to work with. Of course this is my first knife that I'm working on so I don't have anything to compare it to.

Good luck!

- Mike

[Raymond Richard]

PropellerHead, After reading your post about the spring steel I wonder what Mike this is? Need to come back more often, glad to see you hanging around the Outpost and don't be shy about chimming in.......Ray

[Mike Routen]

Ray,

I don't want to hijack this thread, but.... Thanks! I've been browsing the forums, getting a background on what's going on around here. I'll chime in when I think I've got something to contribute, but I think for a while I'll be learning more than contributing.

I really appreciated the time you took from forging to give me all of the good information. I've just about got my first knife profiled out. Next comes the thinning of the blade. Whew. It's quite a workout with just a file and a hacksaw.

Cheers!

- Mike

The only problem working 5160 is that air cooling it to normalize, tends to leave some hard spots. It is nearly impossible to file it flat and straight when it is like that. You have to cool it more slowly to get an even hardness. 10x series steels normalize better/easier. I think any of them will make a good large knife, if you heat treat them accordingly.

[Dana Acker]

Hey Mike, welcome to the forum. Glad you decided to drop in on us. Don't be a stranger.

[prizzim]

go back to my 'sword of laban' thread - I can tell you all about filing 5160, or whatever it was. Took 2 full days.