Yes, but this will not be the first time I've taken such a challenge and haven't failed yet. My buddy is one of the head game wardens down here and wants to commission me to build him a custom hog hunting knife and is insisting he want it made from some very old rail road rail he has access to. It looks to be made from about 110# rail. On the other hand, if it doesnt grind into it, the railroad track has been hardened correctly. Search for items or shops. The toughness is applied to the body of the rail. Besides that, it is also sufficient for making various knives, so if you are more into bladesmithing, a piece of the railroad track is an ideal choice. Start to Finish. Try to keep the metal at that temperature for a couple of minutes by feathering the flame back and forth. Display as a link instead, nor greater than 0.20% copper. Good news! I'm not sure what kind of tools you'll be taking to procure your chunk of rail, but if you have to take four wheelers to get there, I'm assuming there's probably not much in the way of power tools or O/A torches. You can smooth the edges, so they dont cut into the material and many other things to support your blacksmithing work. Blkbear: Rail Track Anvil Blacksmith Craft Jewelry Making 9 Lbs., 9" Length . This type of steel is great for heat treating. As far as metal the will forge out fine. The railroad track is usually tough, meaning it can withstand a lot of hammering. Some high carbon steels are touchy and not forgiving when it comes to working heat, not to mention expensive. Cheers! Cut off a small piece, ideally with a zipcut or some other kind of cutoff disc. If you want to use found materials and RR spikes, do it. Is railroad track good for making knives?From what I can find on-line, railroad track steel is typically 1084 or equivalent hot rolled steel. Six well trained dogs chase and hold the pig. This anvil is about a foot long. The seller might still be able to personalize your item. Can You Make Damascus With Stainless Steel? You have the necessary quality to accomplish this feat. Click Buy it now or Add to cart and proceed to checkout. sold about a dozen, said that they are "just " railway spikes. A railroad spike holds the track in place. How long should a railroad track anvil be? Its also home to a whole host of one-of-a-kind items made with love and extraordinary care. It may be a little harder for some people to find them, while for others, it is very easy, primarily depending on where you live. Make It From Metal also participates in affiliate programs with Bluehost, Clickbank, CJ, ShareASale, and other sites. Do You Need Flux to Forge Weld? This is the fun part: What can you make with the stuff? Gloryrail currently has a close cooperation relationship with several major rail factories in China, and keeps various train track steel stocks , We have own processing plant, provides a variety of train track steel reprocessing services, and produces supporting rail accessories. The accepted standard for knife steel is at least 60 to 65 points carbon minimum. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Not the anvil. through 120 degrees around a pin, the diameter of which is not greater than the Page 5-2-2. Learn more. To temper the steel, let it sit in an oven at 375 degrees for 2 hours. Remember, your goal is to have as much weight as possible to produce greater force under the hammer. Use either a cutting torch (ideal) or a cutoff wheel (much slower) to cut off a length to work with. While many of the items on Etsy are handmade, youll also find craft supplies, digital items, and more. Dont see this option? Okay, with that out of the way, lets move on.You could find railroad tracks in a variety of different places. You can shape metal with a dull, damaged file. So here are some tips for cutting and working with railroad tracks: Obviously, not all railroad track will be exactly the same grade. Generally, it is recommended to have an anvil at least ten times heavier than a hammer. A railroad knife is a tool that is like a nail used for fastening the rails of a train track. When copper is specified, the letters "CU" shall be added." While another example material, 1075 (AISI1075) (UNSG10750) is described as "high carbon steel" and contains a carbon content of 0.70-0.80%. 20 watchers . ", "The knife is beautiful. Pasted as rich text. (The Complete Guide). This type of steel is great for heat treating. Low Alloy Rail Steel.72 to .82% Carbon,.80 to 1.10% Manganese,.25 to .40& Chromium, . 2. Under Add your personalization, the text box will tell you what the seller needs to know. Friend is insisting on it and heck it's going to be an adventure from start to finish so I'm all in regardless if it fails or not. Another common question is whether you should use the bottom or top side as the face. Lets go over the properties of this metal, some effective ways of working with it, as well as some good applications for the grade. Original document, 1926, revised last in 1968 Some of the technologies we use are necessary for critical functions like security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and to make the site work correctly for browsing and transactions. Railroad spikes are low carbon steel mild steel, approximately 15 points carbon max, even the ones marked HC which stands for higher carbon, not High Carbon only have about 30 points of carbon. The wonderful thing about rail tracks is they are most easily available. Now, correct me if I am mistaken, but I was under the understanding that if properly prepared - normalizing, annealing, forging, quenching, a bit of grinding and then heat treating - RR spike steel would be fine to use as a knife. We are specialized in all areas of railroad products, from ties and tools to track work items. This will get rid of any mushrooming, wear or deformation of the metal. If youre a pro at heat treating, you might be able to get this right by eye. For example, if small projects like hooks and bottle openers are all you do, you dont need an anvil more massive than 100 pounds. Original Price $56.00 I've been working in manufacturing and repair for the past 14 years. They might give you a bucket load, then you wouldn't be subject to prosecution if someone gets over zealous. Does shopping on Etsy help support small businesses? I do like the idea of welding the spike top onto the tang portion of a proper higher carbon steel blade. As the Nike slogan says, Just do it.. This week for Weapons Wednesday, I tested out the removeable spike spear staff as well as some of the other new weapons we recently added to the KarateMart.com website. This is a medium carbon steel with 0.7% to 0.8% carbon and 0.7% to 1% manganese. I made a leaf veining die out of a spike marked HC on the top. Your email address will not be published. We also created 2.6 million jobs in the U.S.enough to employ the entire city of Houston, TX! When I picked the railroad track a few years ago, I first tested its hardness. The top of the track on modern rail is a higher carbon steel. Rail contains a high quantity of Manganese, which increases strength and abrasion resistance. The deeper heat treatment allows the steel to have higher strength properties. Its been steady upgrades from there. Dont wait until you can afford the best equipment and tools. Break a piece off, to make sure that it develops an appropriate grain size. I'm glad you are excited about this project, but feel the chances of it happening as described are near Zero. On this website, I share some of the really cool things that I've learned while working in all kinds of different shops. Its best to temper the steel before it gets cold try and do it while its still a bit warm from the heat treat. We have a cabin in the coal branch, Alberta. Good news! Railroad spikes are low carbon steel mild steel, approximately 15 points carbon max, even the ones marked HC which stands for higher carbon, not High Carbon only have about 30 points of carbon. Yes that's what I told him. (20% off), Sale Price $45.00 Original Price $65.00 Etsy uses cookies and similar technologies to give you a better experience, enabling things like: Detailed information can be found in Etsys Cookies & Similar Technologies Policy and our Privacy Policy. Retemper to 400, 425, etc. Then when you have confidence use better material and make a good knife. Turning off the personalized advertising setting wont stop you from seeing Etsy ads or impact Etsy's own personalization technologies, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive. Take full advantage of our site features by enabling JavaScript. Great! Hey all, im new to blacksmithing, and i was wondering, is that junkyard list still available? Newer rails made since 2000 can have .90% Carbon identified with the rolling mark HCP or HE and 1.00% Carbon identified with the rolling mark OCP or HEX. This is a medium carbon steel with 0.7% to 0.8% carbon and 0.7% to 1% manganese. Do a file test to make sure that its hardened properly. If the rail turns out to be worth while he is insisting that we give it a try. Since 1996, NARSTCO has stood apart as the name in steel railroad ties and turnout sets, distinguishing itself not just on the quality of its products but also on the caliber of its service. Once the blade is made, you have to hope that the steels history hasn't set it up for terrible warp or cracks in HT. 200 years ago, theyd make the rails with wood. (70% off), Sale Price $76.50 It was quick to make, and they lasted the day but there was no edge left. 1. But Crom is your god, Crom and he lives in the earth. (25% off), $150.00 The file should skate across the metal instead of biting in. This type of data sharing may be considered a sale of information under California privacy laws. A man can make a knife out of anything he wants to. Powers hit it on the head (see what I did there?) I still have my chunks of rail from those days sitting under my bench. This steel has incredibly high wear resistance, making it less likely to crack. When you work off the the spine of this steel ridge, you feel its power and support! After that forge the spike out into a knife and that will give you a blade with a high carbon center for a cutting edge and the "mild steel" or low carbon steel on the outside for flexibility. It also allows a solid heat treatment that will increase its hardness. The above listings are based only on either Seller's listing information or Etsy marketplace data. They have a machine shop at the institution where the face is milled flat to some degree and that's it. Moving that monster would require having at least two or three persons. Set where you live, what language you speak, and the currency you use. link to What is Forge Welding? Either way, its a good tool to have. 20 watchers . Free shipping . The first great benefit of the railroad track is that it is relatively cheap to acquire, sometimes even free. 85-623, 72 Stat. Email me I have about 20 pages in MS Word on various types of junkyard steel, railroad steel and various steels that are commonly used in knifemaking that Iwill be glad to share with you. Cost efficiency and environmental sustainability made NARSTCO steel ties and turnout sets an easy choice for New Yorks Finger Lakes Railway. Absolutely! You've already signed up for some newsletters, but you haven't confirmed your address. I also have a 40+ year old grader blade that I cut a chunk off of to test. This is a medium carbon steel with 0.7% to 0.8% carbon and 0.7% to 1% manganese. What is Forge Welding? Basically, just hold it at that temperature. It's tough, When the rust forms on the face of the rail it acts as a barrier which then slows the rate of corrosion. I had a guy tell me once that a smith had made him a knife from an HC spike, "and that was good, because that is the same steel they use in swords". So, you can get better at bladesmithing without spending excess money on buying steel. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. Railroad tracks are cheap and oftentimes you can even find them for free. The hardness of steel is measured as a Brindle Hardness Number (HB). The seller might still be able to personalize your item. Light rail: 9kg12kg15kg22kg30kg/m and 81824kg. Ive ordered one purely for aesthetics, although I was surprised by how good it is for small to medium-sized projects. High-Grade Rails AGICO offers the steel grades for railroad rails with a tensile strength range of 690(min) to 1179(min) N/mm2. Typically, a 20-inch piece of railroad track with a plate of high-carbon steel welded on top is sufficient. A more ideal hardness is around, Pitch Away. It's tough, through-hardening, and forgable. The blade should be 8-12"long with a strong point for thrusting . Ideally, you want to find already track that is already dressed. Call or email us today to receive more information from our experienced and knowledgeable staff. Some of the technologies we use are necessary for critical functions like security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and to make the site work correctly for browsing and transactions. 1 % manganese click Buy it now or Add to cart and proceed checkout. Some high carbon steels are touchy and not forgiving when it comes to working heat, not mention..., Pitch Away the text box will tell you what the seller might still be able get... Are specialized in all areas of railroad products, from ties and tools bottom or top as! Wonderful thing about rail tracks is they are `` just `` railway spikes that monster railroad track steel for knives. Can make a good knife comes to working heat, not to mention expensive Yorks Finger railway... 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