Allright fellas, I already feel stupid asking this question, but the only stupid question is the one not asked(yeah right). Here we go , I was grinding some angle iron for practice when I noticed the spark on it had a dull-medium white spark(last 2/3rds).What I want to ask is if you guys(mostly the seniors) think I should go on with the process or think it might be a waste of time. Don't get me wrong for practice it sure turned out prety good.
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Spark test
- Thread starter AelSic
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 19, 1999
- Messages
- 3,560
A spark test is commonly used in steel mills to verify high or low carbon steels. The higher the carbon content the brighter and more sparkling the spark. It is interesing but I fail to see how it can be of any serious use except to compare two steels in an inexact way.
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george
www.tichbourneknives.com
sales@tichbourneknives.com
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george
www.tichbourneknives.com
sales@tichbourneknives.com
A spark test is good for getting an approximate idea of what an unknown piece of steel by testing it against known steel types to see if you can find a match. It gives you a better idea of what the unknown is. Or if you really want to know what the unknown is you can send a one inch by one inch sample and mail it to Metal Test, 1205 5th ave S, Kent, WA 98032, along with a check for $25 (I think that is the going price now) per sample and in a week or two they send the chemical analysis of aprox. 33 elements.
Ravenclaw
Ravenclaw
- Joined
- Jul 23, 1999
- Messages
- 1,409
You said you where grinding angle iron, right? Something that a lot of folks are unaware of......When you purchase "iron" from either a store or scrap yard, you are likely to get A-36 hot roll. This has replaced mild steel (1018) over the last several years. A-36 hot roll is nothing more than what is left at the bottom of the crucible after an order has been filled. All the left overs are put into one crucible and poured/drawn into whatever, and sold as "mild steel." In fact, all of the steel outlets in my area consider 1018 a special order product. I noticed about 5 years ago, when producing hardware for a log cabin, that after water quenching a piece of "iron", that the scale had blown off in several spots, When I asked the outlet that I had purchased the material from for a data sheet, they laughed and said that there was no such thing for A-36. I spoke with several service reps at various steel plants and here was the concensus: "Most customers don't really care about what is in their structural steel, and it's much more economical for use to produce." When I inquired as to what was in A-36, the rep chuckled and said it might have anything from titanium headlight screws, to old files in the melt. So, with this in mind, the spark test becomes a little less reliable than it once was.
This brings to mind something else I have noticed over the years. The tolerances for the steel make ups keeps getting broader. An example would be 5160. When I started out, the acceptable carbon range was .58 to .60, now it has spread from .54 to .63, seems to me that it would do well for us to keep our eyes on what we are using, and to not take anything for granted where our materials are concerned. What do the rest of you think?
http://www.mtn-webtech.com/~caffrey
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Ed Caffrey
"The Montana Bladesmith"
This brings to mind something else I have noticed over the years. The tolerances for the steel make ups keeps getting broader. An example would be 5160. When I started out, the acceptable carbon range was .58 to .60, now it has spread from .54 to .63, seems to me that it would do well for us to keep our eyes on what we are using, and to not take anything for granted where our materials are concerned. What do the rest of you think?
http://www.mtn-webtech.com/~caffrey
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Ed Caffrey
"The Montana Bladesmith"
- Joined
- Apr 17, 1999
- Messages
- 170
Ed,
You said it all and exactly right. I would only add that the steel is one of the least expensive components in a knife and if your doing stock removal there is absoloutly no good reason to mess with salvage steel. Enough D2 for a 10" Bowie is $10.00 or less and I cant think of any handle material that wouldn't cost as much or more. If you look in the yellow pages for spring manufacturers you can buy new, unused 5160 for about $1.50 per pound. Why risk all that effort on a guess as to what the material is. So grind the angle iron for practice if you must. But then throw it away and go get some new already annealed steal to make a knife with and learn to heat treat yourself or have a reputable treater do it for you. The n you'll have something to be proud of and a knife you cacount on.
Just my .02 worth.....GaryB
You said it all and exactly right. I would only add that the steel is one of the least expensive components in a knife and if your doing stock removal there is absoloutly no good reason to mess with salvage steel. Enough D2 for a 10" Bowie is $10.00 or less and I cant think of any handle material that wouldn't cost as much or more. If you look in the yellow pages for spring manufacturers you can buy new, unused 5160 for about $1.50 per pound. Why risk all that effort on a guess as to what the material is. So grind the angle iron for practice if you must. But then throw it away and go get some new already annealed steal to make a knife with and learn to heat treat yourself or have a reputable treater do it for you. The n you'll have something to be proud of and a knife you cacount on.
Just my .02 worth.....GaryB