how to know the type of steel in a spring?

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djuragekon

Joined
Aug 27, 2011
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I got some springs from my Opel and I am gonna make some blades. I would like to know what kind of steel it is and I can see no markings on the spring itself.

I found a Chinese car spring factory that says that for Opel Astra it is:
Material:60Si2MnA/55CrSi.

Does anyone know what this is or is it any good?
 
Problem is with out sending it off to be scientifically tested there is no way to be sure. Also if the springs come from china then probably definitely a no go as far as good steel.
 
Also it is probably older than dirt coming from an opel and filled with all sorts of stresses (not good for knives). Getting it tested would run more that just buying some known knife steel like 1080/1084. It may be ok to just mess around with but not good to make serious knives out of. How will you heat treat? Where are you located? It may help a bit to fill in your profile.....
 
Oh yeah, sorry about that. I am from Serbia, former Yugoslavia, so I don't think I will have much luck finding a bladesmith nearby. I am just starting with bladesmithing, so coil and leaf springs will do fine for the moment. I already have a source for quality Swedish stainless and some laminated Japanese steel, but that will come in later, when I am sure I will achieve something good...

My Opel is 1998.

And as for heat treating, a little past non magnetic... as far as I know.
 
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Without looking it up I assume the first is 9260 with 2% Si and .60 C which is a standard auto spring steel in Europe . It is similar in properties to 5160 .Of course those numbers may mean little in Serbia !! In any case knife application is for toughness not so much for wear resistance , choppers , 'hawks [hatchets ] .
Most steels quench from 75-100 F above critical temperature.
 
Are you forging or doing stock removal to make your blades? I don't know if forging would get rid of potential flaws or not.

I remember how frustrated I was when I was starting to learn about knife making. The biggest question for me was which steel to use and where to get it. Though the Opel springs may have flaws in them I would still try using them on SMALL knives where the flaws may not matter. At the same time keep looking for some better sources of steel.

- Paul Meske
 
I am with mete.
It looks like a .60% carbon spring steel. Use it as if it was 5160/9260 and make some knives.The HT for 5160 is available online or you can ask here when ready to do HT.
I always advise against using unknown steels, but in this case, you know enough about the steel to make an educated guess, and availability is a big issue.
As soon as it is practical, purchase a good amount of one type of steel - 1084, 5160, etc. and make a good number of knives from that one type only. When you have mastered that type, you will have gained the skills needed to move around to other steels. Starting off with three-four-five-or more steel types won't help you .
 
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