Rail road iron blade

[Berdar]

I ran across a guy at the blade show a few years ago who was making bowies from railroad irons. Anybody have a clue who is doing this or have any input on what quality of blade a RR iron might make?

Thanks all

B

[godot]

I've seen several of these over the years and for the most part they seem to be made as decorator pieces. As a decorator piece, I think they're fine, but as a user I would have my doubts. With so many steels to choose from and old railroad spike seems a dubious choice.

[brets-ftw]

railroad spikes with an "HC" stamped into the head typically contain anywhere from .40-.60% Carbon. Don't know about any of the other elements, so if it has an amazing heat treat I'm sure it'll cover just about anything you'll need.

There was also some talk about a yr ago on whether the railroads themselves were A2 or a 1080 variant.

[ThirdTooth]

no particular artisans are doing these, any chap with a home forge has probably made one.

having said that, most rail road spikes are not high carbon so they won't hold an edge. Though you can still make a knife out of one with low carbon, as godot stated they would be more a decorative piece than anything.

[Berdar]

Thanks for the input, but I'm not looking at spikes for knives,,they are a dime a dozen and I haven't found one I really care For anyways.

I was thinking more along the lines of the actual rails. Those things are pretty durable. I'm thinking they would make a really tough blade.

[ThirdTooth]

Thanks for the input, but I'm not looking at spikes for knives,,they are a dime a dozen and I haven't found one I really care For anyways.

I was thinking more along the lines of the actual rails. Those things are pretty durable. I'm thinking they would make a really tough blade.

a lot of people with home forges use RR Irons as anvils. I suppose if you could shape it it would make for a pretty tough blade

[mr.trooper]

Bowies are primarily fighters.

It is always nice to have a good heat treat just in case you need to do chores or utility work with your blade ... but when it comes to wounding, a 35-38 Rc piece of mild steel, or grey iron, is more than capable of holding a sufficient edge to thrust deep into tissue or make a wicked gash. (compare to bronze weapons whose 'C' hardness is 20 or less)

It really depends on your personal expectations for this "blade" - if you're looking for something to shave arm hair and make fuzz sticks then railroad iron will fall far short of your expectations.