mixing steel

G

GlacierWolf_Knives

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Jun 10, 2014
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I just want to know if you can melt 1095 and 5160 in a foundry, and mix them together? I like both but 5160 isn't hard enough and 1095 isn't tough enough. If I mix them in a foundry, will I get a good mixture of each steels qualities and obtain a good knife steel?
 
Why not use 1075, 1084, 80crv2 or a number of other steels. There are steels to fit your needs just some research to find the one to fit the bill.
 
I'm not sure what you mean when you say 5160 isn't hard enough. Lots of Journeymen in the ABS including myself have passed the cutting, chopping and bending test with 5160.
 
Just buy some O1, it gets hard as woodpecker lips and is tough enough for almost any type of knife. Actually, most people don't run 5160 hard enough. Its toughness allows it to be left at 60-61 and it makes a really good knife at that hardness.
 
The reason I asked about these steels is because my uncle has a junkyard. There are a lot of leaf springs and old coil springs out there for free. Buying steel stock is way too expensive if you have access to free quality steel.
 
Don Hanson. I hand work all my knives. Hammer and anvil. No machinery. Old school. Damascus of quality is way too much work for the end result.
 
Um, GW, can I offer some advice?

Don Hanson is an ABS mastersmith.

Nothing wrong with old school, but if you substitute "low tech" for "low knowledge" you get a bowie made from a truck spring that doesn't hold an edge. If you get good with truck springs, or even better yet, get good with steel of a known composition, you can make a fine knife using old school methods.

On the other hand, if you just decide that "old school" is better, without taking the time to learn how to heat treat in a modern way (even using an old school heat source), you get what you get.

I really ought to know better than to enter these discussions at this point. Just rubs me wrong to see a guy from nowhere with 6 posts talking smack to masters.
 
Google the artful bodgers home foundry. Melting your steels together is certainly possible but at the temperatures needed you run the risk of burning the carbon off and ending up with steel that is poorer quality than any of those you started with. At least for the intended purpose. In the end you will put a lot of work into mixing the steels, with dubious results. Guessing at the type of steel in your springs negates the 'quality' as you are now in a position of guessing at the heat treatment. Did you make your 5160 Bowie out of a spring?

Hey, let us know a little about yourself. It makes it easier to answer your questions, knowing where you are coming from?
 
Jason fry. Its not that I'm substituting low tech for low knowledge. I started out as a hobby smith. And I have made some awesome knives from junk yard scrap. But I have made crap knives as well. I'm no master smith. But I know my way around a backyard coal forge. I don't make enough money smithing to justify buying heavy duty equipment. I'm here to learn, not to offend.
 
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Bo T. No. My grandfather did. He's the on who got me hooked on bladesmithing. I probably need to re temper it. But its a sentimental piece.
 
Sounds like you got it figured out to me. Let us know how it turns out. I can't wait to see the results.
 
.....quality steel. .....


That is the problem. Leaf springs and old coil springs are not necessarily quality steel. With rare exception, by the time they end up in the junk yard, they most likely have micro-fractures and other problems. Also, it is very unlikely they are 5160 or 1095. Those old generalizations stopped being accurate nearly 50 years ago.
Brand new O-1 in .25X1.5" is $10 a foot. New 5160 is $6 a foot....... Free, no...quality steel...Yes!

Saving a few dollars on a knife and not getting the best knife is false economy. The steel is often the smallest cost involved.
 
GlacierWolf_Knives said:
Bo T. No. My grandfather did. He's the on who got me hooked on bladesmithing. I probably need to re temper it. But its a sentimental piece.
Click to expand...

Then, don't touch it. I'd try to make a Bowie that was better. It is good advice to buy quality steel and certainly less expensive, $$ and time, than building your own foundry and buying and casting your own crucibles. If you decide to use springs, test a small piece to determine if it will work. Make a small blade and figure out how tough you can make it and how well it holds an edge. If it works well save that spring. Don't forget the garage door springs. There are some who use old springs for their knives. My understanding is many have a testing sequence for determining if the spring will make a good knife.
 
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