Shrapnel

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A fella I work with gave me some shrapnel he collected while in the military. Its small pieces, everything is at least an inch or two long. I'm wondering if there is any possible way I could ever use this to make cladding?
Also how illegal is it for me to have this?

I was thinking I could maybe put it in with some powdered Steel and turn that into a billet then put a 1084 piece in the middle. Would this possibly work? Or is it just something to put on a shelf?
 
Unless you know what type of steel it is, not sure how you could work it. You could probalby mix it with powder though and make a san mai. As for legality, its just metal.
 
I've seen a lot of shrapnel in my days and I would guess it tends to be higher in carbon content to reduce the tendency to deform and increase fracture capability. Beyond that, there are so many different munitions that it would be impossible to determine what it is without analysis. I think it's a cool idea to mix with powder for cladding if you can get contrast. Hand grenade shrapnel would be especially cool because it fractures into thin irregular chips. It would need a serious cleaning before trying to use it.

Bob
 
Make a canister weld with 1070 powder and draw it into a 1/4" thick bar. make san-mai with 1084 core. That will make several knives.
 
Projo steel has to have enough carbon so the it can get hard enough to fracture easily. Some more advanced shells are heat treated in a manner so that they break along certain lines. Some, like the Gerry Bull designed shells, were heat treated so that a 155mm projo would shatter into like 4000 pieces. With that said, they also have to be able to handle the high g-loads of gong from 0 fps to say 2800 FPS in 20 feet. I would be surprised if the typical "shrapnel" has any more carbon that say 4140.
 
jdm61 said:
Projo steel has to have enough carbon so the it can get hard enough to fracture easily. Some more advanced shells are heat treated in a manner so that they break along certain lines. Some, like the Gerry Bull designed shells, were heat treated so that a 155mm projo would shatter into like 4000 pieces. With that said, they also have to be able to handle the high g-loads of gong from 0 fps to say 2800 FPS in 20 feet. I would be surprised if the typical "shrapnel" has any more carbon that say 4140.
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I was told it came from a 155mm artillery shell casing. That's all I know. I'm doubting there is much or any carbon in it, but I could be wrong.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Make a canister weld with 1070 powder and draw it into a 1/4" thick bar. make san-mai with 1084 core. That will make several knives.
Click to expand...

Thank you Stacy for your knowledgeable words. This stuff is pretty rusty, should I take a wire wheel to it and clean it up best I can? My plan was as you described but the specifics are clearer coming from an aged and seasoned veteran like yourself
 
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