Spectral analysis of Aldo's 1060

Sam Salvati

Sam Salvati

Joined
Aug 6, 2007
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5,060
Hey everyone! Just got back my results from the spectral analysis of Aldo's 1060 I had done, here are the results:

Fe-98.0
C-.76
Si-.221
Mn-.85
 
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Wow--and this is a "simple" steel. :) I didn't realize how many trace elements were in plain carbon steels.

Sam, where did you have the analysis done, and if you don't mind, how much did it cost? I have a project on the back burner that involves doing spectral analysis on a collection of vintage straight razor blades to see how they compare to modern steels. (If anyone wants to help me get these analyzed, I'd be thrilled.)

I'd be very interested to find out what was in Aldo's W1 as well. I just got about 10' of 3/4" rod that ought to make a few nice razors... :)

Josh
 
Not as a plug or anything, but this is just another friendly service offered by your local neighborhood Fastenal (SHAMELESS PLUG:barf:) hehe. Still waiting on how much it cost but I think it was only around 50$ (or so the pricelist says).

I do not get any revenue or bonus or commission or anything like that if you go to your local Fastenal and ask to have this done, I think it is a neat service so I thought I would let everyone know they offer it. This should not be taken as advertising or anything like that please :o .

Josh, that sounds like an itneresting project I would be interested to see more of :thumbup: . Most of those trace elements I think really have almost NO effect on the steel, but I would welcome input from those that know much more about it than me.
 
Steel isn't made from iron ore and charcoal anymore. There is a lot of re-cycled steel in new steel. The trace elements come from the many,many different alloys that went into the melt.
I used to say that M36 (construction grade steel) was named that because they Melted 36 types of steel together.

Stacy
 
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1060 [.55-.65 C] ?? That is even off the edge of 1070 for carbon. Either you have the wrong stuff or the chemistry is not right or a typo.

Pumpkin Festival Saturday !
 
Sam, would this be the same stuff Jerry Rados brought back home for me from Ashokan this year? Or was Aldo selling more than one kind of steel?
Aldo? Listening?
 
I was thinking that Sam was perhaps talking about Aldo's older batch of 1080,too.
Stacy
 
Nope, it is the 3/16ths thick by 3 1/4 wide 1060, which I guess it seems is more like 1075 from the analysis. Robert, i'll see you there!!

Karl, if it 3/16ths thick by 3 1/4 inches wide then yes, same stuff, That is the only size Aldo had this in.
 
That's what I've been trying to tell you guys. The steel isn't always what it's supposed to be. It's rarely "ideal" these days. So, if you assume it's whatever it's supposed to be, and heat treat it accordingly,... you may not be getting optimum results.

I'd say that all the trace elements,... must have some effect on the steel and it's "quality".
 
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The trace elements depend on which one and how much. In Sam's steel they are in small amounts and won't have noticable effect. With the steel markets these days sometimes you get very significantly high amounts especially copper.They then may change HT criteria and performance. That's especially true of steel from China and India.And don't drink Chinese milk !
 
mete said:
The trace elements depend on which one and how much. In Sam's steel they are in small amounts and won't have noticable effect. With the steel markets these days sometimes you get very significantly high amounts especially copper.They then may change HT criteria and performance. That's especially true of steel from China and India.And don't drink Chinese milk !
Click to expand...

What about all the trace elements combined, (especially with all the variables from the forging process)?... Splitting hairs is what we do. :)

I definitely agree about the copper. You get too much of that when it's not supposed to be in the alloy, it can really screw things up.
 
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What happened here is a good example of what I call 10xxP steel... 1060 “Probably“… kind of like 24KP gold. LOL :)
 
I'm by no means an expert on steel or it's make-up, but I do work with a lot of analysis equipment and techniques and I have a few questions regarding the data above. A lot of reports will give you amounts that the software thinks is there, but you have to go and see what the detection limits are for each element. For example, allot of the data list percentages to thousandths (V-.001). How accurate is this? The other question I have is what is the sample size? Is this a very small area being analyzed, or a large area, or several small areas averaged? This may or may not explain the high C content. Just some things I'm curious about. I've seen too many assumptions made from analysis data summary tables without any one looking at the raw data or perhaps how the sample was prepared.

Mark
 
It's a good example of "carbon contamination". :)

You can do a simple test if you suspect you might have copper in your steel. Just take a piece and leave it set in some clean pickling acid. If it plates itself with copper and copper becomes visible on the surface,... it has copper.
 
R. Mark Lee said:
I'm by no means an expert on steel or it's make-up, but I do work with a lot of analysis equipment and techniques and I have a few questions regarding the data above. A lot of reports will give you amounts that the software thinks is there, but you have to go and see what the detection limits are for each element. For example, allot of the data list percentages to thousandths (V-.001). How accurate is this? The other question I have is what is the sample size? Is this a very small area being analyzed, or a large area, or several small areas averaged? This may or may not explain the high C content. Just some things I'm curious about. I've seen too many assumptions made from analysis data summary tables without any one looking at the raw data or perhaps how the sample was prepared.

Mark
Click to expand...

In addition to these good questions, one must ask precisely how the sample was taken. Often, it is small sample removed from various surface points by spark, laser, or e-beam. It might or might not represent the elemental composition in the bulk of the material. Was it taken from the surface of a bar or rod ... or from an as-cut edge?

Sadly, this sort of measurement just isn't as simple as it seems.
 
You should be able to tell the difference between .6 and .76 carbon 10xx series steel with a simple spark test, some comparison, experience and common sense.

For one thing,... .6 will throw sparks further from wheel than .76 before they die out. Spark testing takes some practice, but for something like this it should work fine.

Hot torque (or twist) testing can tell you a lot about the purity, malleability and quality of the steel.
 
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