Lowes steel for guards

V

Vpetrell

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Jul 14, 2015
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I picked up a piece of steel from lowes to fool around with. Not gonna make any blades from it, but is this decent for guards?

Thinking of rust bluing it for rust prevention

Anyone have experience with it for guards?

VP


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I've used their mild steel for guards. I've used scrap steel for guards. It all works for me.

As you said, not for blades... but pretty much anything goes for guards.
 
it is 1018 steel. It is fine for guards and fittings. It will slightly harden if needed for something like a "S" guard or "D" guard. It will etch in FC to get a more aged look.
 
Thanks guys! I appreciate it! I'll experiment and see what process I can do for rust protection


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The etch will slow rust a bit, but all carbon steel will rust without a coating. Parkerizing is a good one for fittings. Waxing with Renaissance wax is also a good practice.
 
Make sure that it isn't zinc coated, especially if you plan to heat it up.
 
Then that is a recent thing. WhenI first started out 12years ago, some of it was galvanized "A36" and I was warned about it. I do remember Ed Caffrey telling a humorous story about A36. He said that one time when he etched a guard, he could see the faint outline of a melted machine screw. I have an ALRO Metals location right down the street for me so I have no problem finding 1018 in any size I need.
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
The steel in the bins at Lowes, HD, TRue Value, etc. is 1018 and not galvanized.
Click to expand...
 
Is there an easy way to prevent rust on these at home? I am thinking of rust bluing, maybe.

Would cold blue work? I have them sitting in water now to start the process, but it's time consuming to say the least.

This is all new to me and I'm not seeing much on here, unless I'm missing something, which is a good possibility as well....


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I use cold blue to get a "French gray" kind of look on mild steel. You can also double up and etch it first then cold blue.
 
jdm61 said:
I use cold blue to get a "French gray" kind of look on mild steel. You can also double up and etch it first then cold blue.
Click to expand...

How is this on rust prevention. I have some cold blue but have heard it doesn't do as much as you would think. More of a "paint" on the metal


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