? On Kelly works steel (edited with pics)

T

Takenname_7

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Apr 13, 2022
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Does anyone know what kind of or classification of steel Kelly works true temper used, say for thier flint edge in the 40s- 50s by chance? Thanx for any replies in advance man downloaded imagur just to post pics...what a pain in the arse. Trying to use imagur not this this site. I'm figuring it out though.
https://imgur.com/a/Dk5OIvm
 
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I don't have solid proof for Kelly but several makers used 1080 or similar for top line axes (akin to a Flint Edge) and 1060 for their lesser lines. Council still does something like this using 1060 for base axes and 5160 for premium axes. They've also made many 1080 axes, presumably to meet Forest Service specs. I would wager that Flint Edges are made of 1080 or similar plain carbon steel and that their Woodslashers are made from 1060. I'm not curious enough to spend the money to have them tested but in my mind that's what they are.

Flint Edges were regularly sold to the Forest Service and so must have met their spec for a plain carbon steel with at least 72 points of carbon. The natural choice to meet that spec would be 1080. Plentiful, cheap, well understood and easy to heat treat.
 
The standardization and number designation system for steels wasn't developed until the 1940's, development of the system having started in the 1930's. As such you won't find specific steel grades listed. But they were essentially low-alloy high-carbon steels ranging from 1045-1095 with most being in the range of 1060-1080. Consistency was the most important thing so usually they found a specific supplier and stuck with the steel they produced, then dialed in all of their processes around that. Hence all the focus on things like "special analysis steel" in vintage ads, because the extra rigor of the steel producer to make sure *their* product was consistent allowed the manufacturer to make sure *their* product was consistent.
 
Man thanx so much to cure my curiosity, well help alleviate some anyway lol. Steel is exceptional. Had a chip in edge but I'm going to let it work out naturally. That was my thinking that its up high carbon. Very hard steel that holds an edge ands razor sharp. I guess if I'd one word describe the older steel it be "dense".. was a gift to me from a flea market find. I love it.https://imgur.com/a/mQGDuPW
I'm thinking it's late 40s to 50s. It doesn't have the eye ridges in the middle which that was patented in 59-60 I believe? But also has the true temper stamped with Kelly works flint edge which started in 39-40? I'm just parroting info I found online so forgive any errors but think I'm on right track.
https://imgur.com/a/mQGDuPW
 
That oil quench info was a good tip too, set me down another little rabbit hole... I wonder if it's like an o1 type steel,? 5160, or a 1080.. I'm still learning all this so I'm a newb here but fascinated by it all.
Like those designations...is it just the little .000%s in magnese, etc. That make them different or are they all the same? These are things I've been trying to get learned.
 
It is unlikely that it was anything like 5160. And high hardness can be achieved using lower carbon "high carbon steels" like 1045 depending on the method used. However, given the oil quench it is most likely something similar to 1080. But little meaningful comes from knowing the specific composition except from a raw historical data standpoint. It's a carbon steel of some appropriate kind and the method in which it was processed gave it certain performance properties. A different alloy and heat treatment process could potentially yield similar functional results.
 
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