Hey everyone im new here, and new to knife making. I got a question, i have access to semi trailer leaf springs. I heard some of them can make good knifes but my problem is that they are super thick. Has anyone messed with semi trailer leaf springs and what have you made out of them. Also what are best ways to thin the metal, besides just grinding it thinner. What do y'all think
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Leaf spring as material
- Thread starter Chris89
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Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith
ilmarinen - MODERATOR
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Leaf springs are very poor blade steel. They have millions of micro-cracks along the grain boundaries in them, and the exact alloy is not known. A bar of brand new knife steel to make 4-5 knives costs less than $40 delivered.
Cool as it may sound, using "found" steel is not the best way to get started. Get a bar or two of 1084 or 5160 from a supplier and make some good knives with known steel.
BTW, Fill out your profile and tell us where you live and some info about you.
The stickys have a lot of info for a new maker, read as many of them as you can.
Use the BF custom search engine to find out all sorts of info and answers to the many questions ( like this one) that new makers ask.
Cool as it may sound, using "found" steel is not the best way to get started. Get a bar or two of 1084 or 5160 from a supplier and make some good knives with known steel.
BTW, Fill out your profile and tell us where you live and some info about you.
The stickys have a lot of info for a new maker, read as many of them as you can.
Use the BF custom search engine to find out all sorts of info and answers to the many questions ( like this one) that new makers ask.
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2016
- Messages
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I have maybe a hundred knives beaten out of old springs, from Thailand. Some from Hmong blacksmiths who came from Laos. While not exactly state of the art, they perform their function on day-to-day tasks in the boonies. Maybe it's because they forge a fairly short, thick piece down sufficiently, or that they use a charcoal fire. Or maybe because a large hand-forged knife only costs < 5 bucks and you can get it reshaped and hardened/tempered for less than half that.
Some of the smiths have been making knives for 40 or 50 years, so they get a feeling for the less-than-ideal material they are working with.
That said, I'd prefer known steel. Like Land Rover springs.
Some of the smiths have been making knives for 40 or 50 years, so they get a feeling for the less-than-ideal material they are working with.
That said, I'd prefer known steel. Like Land Rover springs.