cable question

J

JasonByers

Joined
Feb 10, 2010
Messages
106
What are the types of steel that steel cable could be made of? I made a blade from some and could not get it to harden completely in oil. I was a little reluctant to quench in water from fear of a "tink" but tried anyway and it hardened great. I'm wandering if I have some low carbon cable that wouldn't harden fully in oil or something like 1095. I don't have a hardness tester but this blade seemed much harder than my HC railroad spike knives quenched in water which from my understanding is 1050-60. And if its worth mentioning the blade etched a dark gray. Anyway I'm just curious of what type of steel is commonly seen in cable. The cable held the turn table together from a large bucket truck at a power company if that means anything. Thanks.
 
Cable can be made of just about anything. It depends on the requirement for the job at hand. It could be mild to 1095 and any mix thereof. Your RR spikes are at best 1040 but most HC stamped spikes are 1030 and will not harden fully. If your blade hardened more than the RR spike then that is good but to what extent did it harden. I suggest you do a quench test on your nest cable forging. You could even to a single strand harden and snap. If you forge out a small section welded together then harden in your desired medium. Put it in the vise and smack it with a hammer. If it shatters great. If not then you might not have a high carbon cable. If you do the strand do several just to make sure. This will prevent you from spending too much time finishing the blade to find out it will not harden.
 
although I am not into forging, I cannot understand why anyone would start with on unknown steel and work to to try to make something useful. The cost of basic known steel is not that much, why not just use an known type and go from there?

Mike L.
 
logem said:
although I am not into forging, I cannot understand why anyone would start with on unknown steel and work to to try to make something useful. The cost of basic known steel is not that much, why not just use an known type and go from there?

Mike L.
Click to expand...

From my standpoint,time is money.If I have the time to play in my shop I probably dont have the money to spend on steel.Free is free and if its for free its for me :D Couple some old crane cable or leaf springs with a waste oil forge and your having a whole lotta fun for free.

It's not so much as saving on steel cost's as a school of though.(for me anyway) I could sell 2 small knives and buy enough of Aldo's 1084 to last 2 years...which reminds me I'm running out :eek:
 
I have gobs and gobs of known steel and I'm a believer in buying known steel instead of using mystery steel if you have the option but I don't know a place I can get cable. Before I took it home I removed a few strands, heated and quenched in a bucket of water and after the strands snapped. At home I forged small piece into a bar, quenched in oil and it snapped but mainly splintered but still snapped fine. I was told that my welds broke loose but it was just a test piece so no big deal. After all that I knew I had something that could be hardened so I started on another bar. Its only when I started heat treating the blade I figured out brine was the better choice. I have no way to test hardness except for running a file across it but in that way it skates a file just as easily as 1084 and much easier than any RR spike I've forged. After I finished the blade I cut two small pieces off the bar I had left over and water quenched one and oil for the other. The water quenched broke much easier than the oil. Thanks guys for the input it bothers me that I don't know what steel this could be but I couldn't turn down 20ft of 1 1/4in cable. I think it will make a decent blade though, its pretty anyway. Thanks again guys.
 
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