Salvaged some copper-any ideas or info?

[Chiro75]

A new store is being put into the place next to where I work and the electricians left a few feet of heavy-duty copper wire behind. I haven't looked too closely at it, but the strands are pretty good diameter and the cable itself is about an inch in diameter. I know Fred Perrin occasionally uses copper on his tribal knives, sort of hammering it into the surface of the handles during forging, but what else can be done with this stuff? Also, would I need forge temperatures to mess with it or would propane torches do the trick? It is really soft, so maybe it's leaded, and I didn't want to screw around until I had better info. Was this a good find or just junk?

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Steve Agocs, D.C.
http://www.geocities.com/Chiro75/frames.html


agocs_s@hotmail.com

 

[Phillip Jones]

Chiro,

It should be good stuff to use.
It is soft because it is probably in the annealed state.
You can use the wire for wrapping handles. You can even straighten it out and use it for pins.
Use a propane torch for a heat source.

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Phillip Jones
Jones Knives
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=126319&Auth=false

[This message has been edited by Phillip Jones (edited 03-02-2001).]

 

[mikeS]

Chiro, get all you can the electric wire above 1" is abot 98% copper. I work it cold and then heat to red and quench in water to anneal. Braided, flattened ans soldred, it makes a really nifty ferrule, adds nice contrast in pin material. What you don't use you can trade, or sell to the scrap yard and buy more knife stuff.

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Sola Fide

 

[ptpalpha]

Copper market is pretty low right now; if you stripped the insulation off you might get $.70 a pound. If you want more, go to the local electrical supply and ask for a 2' piece of 500MCM. That should keep you in knife-making copper for a year, and cost less than $10.

 

[L6steel]

You could use it to make big nasty electrodes to hook to the temples of a dead body and rig a table that goes up out the roof and during a good electrical storm you could raise the body and..... no wait, you're a chiropractor, not a mad scientist. Never mind!

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Take care!! Michael

Always think of your fellow knife makers as partners in the search for the perfect blade, not as people trying to compete with you and your work!
http://www.nebsnow.com/L6steel
Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms!!!

 

[C L Wilkins]

Michael,
What a novel idea! Now why didn't I think of that! That would seem like a pretty good plot for a movie.

Or hey! Better yet! The best use would be to make bracelets out of the stuff for the treatment of arthritis!

On a serous note, copper tarnishes, just like brass. The color is nice (at first) but scratches easier than brass.

C Wilkins