Cast Steel Axe

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Whiskey_Jim

Joined
Feb 21, 2017
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362
I pulled a eBay cheapie out of the electron transfer tank to get the rust off and noticed it has CAST STEEL stamped on it. As you guys can tell I don't know anything about the manufacturer history of axes. It has a temper line about two inches back from the edge. Cast seems like a red flag but I work in safety and what is ONFG YOUR GOING TO DIE today was safe back when people weren't checking their Facebook while climbing a deer stand. Thoughts
 
The term "Cast Steel" was in reference to the grade of steel, not how the head was made, and was actually a sign of quality. It was a more refined process than the simple blister steel that was more commonly used.
 
And it doesn't mean that your axe was cast as an axe. It was just forged from cast steel.
 
One finds the words "Cast Steel" on all manner of old tools, but they were pretty much all forged to shape. There are very very few steel axes out there that were literally cast to shape, and they're pretty much all from very recent history, whereas most tools made from cast steel tend to date to the 1800's. Somewhere around the turn of the century you started to see the words "solid steel" being used on a lot of tools that until that point had traditionally been made using laminated or forge welded construction, as the material had become affordable enough to produce the whole head economically from steel that formerly had been reserved for the edge alone. Forge welded/laminated tools still had the hardest edge steel, though, as they were able to take advantage of the differential hardening/tempering of the dissimilar metals. Whole steel tools had to strike more of a compromise in their heat treatment between toughness and edge holding.
 
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She is fitted fine and dandy to a 28 inch straight handle. Weighs 2.75 pounds. Just have to do the edge work
 
Virtually all steel the past 150 years or so is cast. Thats the process how its made.
Generally "CastSteel" on the tool or its advertising indicates its made in the early days of abundantly available steel. I suppose to indicate its an all steel tool, not a iron & steel combination.
 
I'm used to the firearms world. Cast means the metal was poured until a mold as then finish machines. Forged means a rough product was struck as then finish machined.
 
Whiskey_Jim said:
This head is telling my 12in. Nicholson bastard file it's drunk and to go home
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Newer Nicholson files are made in Mexico and don't manage hardened steel well. Also, I've found double cut files more effective on axes than single cut files.
 
Square_peg said:
Newer Nicholson files are made in Mexico and don't manage hardened steel well. Also, I've found double cut files more effective on axes than single cut files.
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But that big Nicholson would probably make a dandy knife blade now, if shaped, ground, and re-hardened... :D
 
Hey Whiskey, side-tracking this thread a bit, if I may....since I also used electrolysis and I prefer it to any other method other than the wirebrush, in some situations at least....do you by any chance bake these heads at lower than annealing temp after the process or just let them be? I've heard a few horror stories on hydrogen embrittlement. (OTOH, the trapped hydrogen will be released in time.)

Just curious if this is something you've experienced and how/whether you approach it.
 
Moonw said:
Hey Whiskey, side-tracking this thread a bit, if I may....since I also used electrolysis and I prefer it to any other method other than the wirebrush, in some situations at least....do you by any chance bake these heads at lower than annealing temp after the process or just let them be? I've heard a few horror stories on hydrogen embrittlement. (OTOH, the trapped hydrogen will be released in time.)

Just curious if this is something you've experienced and how/whether you approach it.
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No I don't bake them. Will have to look into it.
 
Lieblad said:
Virtually all steel the past 150 years or so is cast. Thats the process how its made.
Generally "CastSteel" on the tool or its advertising indicates its made in the early days of abundantly available steel. I suppose to indicate its an all steel tool, not a iron & steel combination.
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Not quite. It indicates the quality of the steel used in the cutting part of the blade only, and does not indicate that the whole head is steel. I've had plenty of scythe blades marked "CAST STEEL" on the tang that were laminated construction.

Moonw said:
Hey Whiskey, side-tracking this thread a bit, if I may....since I also used electrolysis and I prefer it to any other method other than the wirebrush, in some situations at least....do you by any chance bake these heads at lower than annealing temp after the process or just let them be? I've heard a few horror stories on hydrogen embrittlement. (OTOH, the trapped hydrogen will be released in time.)

Just curious if this is something you've experienced and how/whether you approach it.
Click to expand...

Hydrogen embrittlement is usually only a concern with things like springs, not cutting tools, and if you ever caused a cutting tool to get so full of hydrogen that it caused a problem then you're putting too much juice to it. Electrolysis works best within a certain range and if you start putting current to it above and beyond the optimum that's where most of the problems start cropping up.
 
Thanks Whiskey.

42, as far as I remember: the harder the steel (HRC), the more affected it will be. Will need a refresher, I could not produce now the paper I read this in. The intensity of the current, but the time of the exposure as well, are affecting the severity of the problem. I'm pretty sure I never overdid it, though.
 
The more actively it's splitting water, the more likely embrittlement is to occur. So you really want to only be putting enough power to the piece to do the rust conversion effectively and minimize water-splitting.
 
I use a wire wheel after running a tool through the electrolysis tank. The rust comes off it like dried mud off an old boot thanks to being loosened by the conversion process.
 
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