1955 Ford Fairlane Leaf Springs OK for Blades?

Umm OK... are you refuting your earlier post? Should we "practice" on any steel or must it be new "knife" steels??:confused:
 
shoeman said:
Umm OK... are you refuting your earlier post? Should we "practice" on any steel or must it be new "knife" steels??:confused:
Click to expand...

I can't speak for Ed or anyone else.... but let me put it the only way I know how.

People come on here asking for answers, people with experience answer the question as best as we know based on OUR experience. We've put the time, sweat and blood in and we're sharing freely. Sure, make a knife out of whatever you want, heck forge one out of cardboard but let me ask you this.... have you ever spent 10 hours forging a blade, hand finishing it and when you go to test it you find microfractures in used steel? If you haven't then count yourself lucky. You'll notice every single smith that says "buy known steel" also tells you about the misery they've spent using "found steel?"

Make a knife out of whatever you want, I'm a big proponent of people making knives out of whatever they have BUT if you ask me I'll suggest known steel everytime.
 
if youve got the leaf springs free and are just learning, a set off the '55 Ford'll do many blades, soon it'll be a "known" steel to you if you use them to learn on , or you may not like the steel at all and toss the whole works. Either way you can learn something Im sure, Leaf springs heat treat a little funny tho. Personally I like to play around w/found steel to see if it is knife quality, I do a quench test on it first before I invest any time into a blade.
 
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Will stated it very clearly: Practice on what ever you can find, you have a lot of learning ahead of you, have fun with it and you will learn from every blade you forge or grind. But do not figure these are going to be great blades, they are practice blades. After you have tested blades to destruction and find faults that you cannot explain, your learning will be in high gear. Through your first practice blades you will gain confidence and when you feel you are ready and want to make great blades, go with the best steel you can and go for the blade of your dreams.

When I started I sold a lot of blades that folks liked and I did also. But I sure hope they do not get into a situation where one of those early blades may make the difference between life or death.

As an example: Many evaluate a blade my how many deer it dressed out without needing sharpening. Cutting flesh is child's play, flesh is not exceptionally abrasive on blades and not a very demanding test. As a maker you set your goals, I cannot set your goals for you, it is up to you to set your goals. When you are happy with the blades you make, your name goes on them and so goes your reputation.

My statement about nothing good happens to steel being used was meant to be a caution that used steel can provide variables in your blades that challenge your understanding. I had no idea what I was up against until Rex and preformed metallurgical autopsies on my blades and related his knowledge to me. Then I came to understand why I had so much trouble achieving my goals when it was not always my methods taht were at fault, but sometimes the steel I was using that led to failures. Once I understood this good times followed.

As in any art you start out with 'twinkle twinkle little star' and know success when someone recognizes the tune. From that point you work your way to what ever level you seek. If the instrument is out of tune your job will be different.

The ability to recognize when your work was the cause of error or it was some fault in the steel is one giant step forward.

I learned to harden blades by practicing on a forged blade of mild steel. It never would harden - much - but I learned to control heat and develop my technique on it. Had I tried to learn on real blades I would have wasted a lot of time and expense unnecessarily.

There are many little things you need to work out like forging faults, you do not need to waste good steel to develop your techniques.

I hope this explains what I am trying to say, if not please ask more questions.

Always remember the number one rule - have fun with it!
 
Thanks to everyone who has posted- seems the topic stirred a few pasions on steel to say the least. I am working with a steel that is free- first off... I am getting into this after having researched and gotten the bug a bit from mashing some mild steel to make nudgits and steak-turners at a craft retreat.( By the way- Thanks for the suggestion Ed- Ive been a Blade subscriber for 2 yrs and am going back thru their old issues on the DVD format disc as well) So the synopsis of it all is I will use the springs with caution, and learn without wasting my cash on burning and killing a known billet. This being said- I did compromise- I landed a free "known" sample of 5160, A2, and D2 from a local machine shop scrap-bin... so spark tests and hardening can be compared. (I know they arent D2, but it was free!)
-I cant say thanks enough for the support in the format here- this forum is great and I look forward to getting things rolling very soon!
 
Where would I get these samples tested- 2 posters have referenced this method and I would love to actually know where to get it done.... Any thoughts?
 
And when you make a knife from it refer to the steel as OR55FS steel -
(Old Rusty 1955 Ford Spring Steel)

Stacy
 
Thanks and I will spec that blade just that way- may sound good as a marketing tool! HA! Seriously- I will be sending it off for XRF and Spectrometry (found a local engineering lab that will do it for free to teach their new-hires)... Looking at quench tanks now- Mineral Oil (USP grade) or Olive Oil?
 
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