# Made from a piece of coil spring



## BlacksmithKevin (Jan 15, 2013)

Here is one I made from a coil spring. It is about 1'' wide and the blade is about 5.5'' long. I collected a bunch of springs and now have a couple of dozen pieces to work with. Plus they were free!


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

Simple - straight-forward .. and nicely presented!

Did you make that sheath as well?


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## BlacksmithKevin (Jan 15, 2013)

Sheaf was done by a friend of mine. He does custom kydex for holsters and this was his first attempt with a knife. It turned out well.


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## PipLogan (Apr 25, 2011)

I don't mean to sound stupid.... But what kind of springs? That looks real cool by the way!


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

Nice blade, I like the leaf springs myself.


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## PipLogan (Apr 25, 2011)

Like off of trucks?


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## Friknnewguy (Jun 30, 2012)

Leaf springs ? 
Way cool .


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## biobacon (Aug 20, 2012)

Try bicycle chains, they make an awesome pattern.


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## PipLogan (Apr 25, 2011)

Sharpen a bike chain?


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## BlacksmithKevin (Jan 15, 2013)

Car coil springs.


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## BlacksmithKevin (Jan 15, 2013)

Leaf springs waiting to made into something. Old gas cylinder will be a sword quench tank eventually.


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## PipLogan (Apr 25, 2011)

That's cool! How do you straiten that out!


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## BlacksmithKevin (Jan 15, 2013)

In the forge shown on my profile pic. I heat them red hot and then straighten them out on my anvil, one section at a time. When I work on them I will take pictures and explain what I am doing.


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## Indiana_Jones (Nov 15, 2011)

Very nice job, Kevin. Thanks for sharing. Doesn't the spring steel loose it's temper when you heat it in the forge? Do you quench it again to make it tough again? Do you anneal it also? Just curious.


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## BlacksmithKevin (Jan 15, 2013)

Once you get above 4-500 degrees any temper in the steel is lost. I straighten them using an orange heat. Heat for metal goes red-orange-yellow- then white. From the round , I flatten and start the blade profile. Once I am good with blade profile I work in the distal taper. That is a tapering of the thickness of the knife from the tang to the tip. I do a triple normalizing. Heating to red hot and air cooling until it is black again to relieve any stress that might have built up during forging. This hopefully prevents warping during quench. I do an annealing step also. Once I have it red hot I just turn off the forge and let it cool off inside the forge as it cools off. This makes for easier grinding and file work. It puts the steel in its softest state. 
For the hardening process I heat till it is non magnetic. You just have to pull it out and see if a magnet sticks or not. When you get or not , quench. I use veggie oil and it works well. For tempering I use a toaster oven. 

Sorry for the long winded reply. I get into teaching mode sometimes. When I start production again I will document everything and post easy to follow instructions.


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## PipLogan (Apr 25, 2011)

Yes please do.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

BlacksmithKevin said:


> Car coil springs.


I love that idea... they are much more plentiful, and the segments shown are ideal for smaller projects... than whittling down a larger leaf spring.


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## BlacksmithKevin (Jan 15, 2013)

Coils springs are great for smaller knifes. With bigger springs you might be able to get. About 1.5'' of width. But thicker coil springs are harder to work with. Advantage of leaf springs is you have the width already built in for make swords, hawks, smaller axes, etc. Plus they have the thickness needed. 
I will be posting notes later when I start forging again on, what thickness of spring vs how wide it will be as a 1/4 flat bar. Plus plenty of pictures. Ummm , can I get an advanced membership out of this?


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

BlacksmithKevin said:


> Sorry for the long winded reply. I get into teaching mode sometimes.


Please, no apology necessary!!! We **want** to learn!


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## BlacksmithKevin (Jan 15, 2013)

Great! I love to teach and share my knowledge! People can always PM with any question they may have.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

Friknnewguy said:


> Leaf springs ?
> Way cool .





PipLogan said:


> Like off of trucks?


Yes.I have a limited set up these days so I have to make do with stuff already flat.


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## unioncreek (Nov 30, 2012)

I have a friend who is a blacksmith by trade and uses a lot of coil springs. He made a propane forge that he an fit the coil spring in and when it's hot enough. He takes it out and drops it in a jig he made that unwinds and straightens the whole spring in one shot. It comes out almost as straight as a stick of cold rolled rod. If I get a chance ill take some picks of his jig.

Bob


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## seanallen (Nov 13, 2012)

Ok. Who is the metallurgist here? I have a knife i made from 9% nickel steel. Im about to finish shaping the blade and i want to know a good way to temper/harden the blade edges.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

It depends on how much carbon is in the steel whether it will harden at all. With unknown carbon and alloy content, heat treating is a crap shoot, so about all you can do is try. I would try on a small sample by heating to high red or low orange heat and quench in oil. Check hardness with a file when it is cool. There is always some surface decarburization, so make sure you file deeper than just the surface. If it is hard, then you have some data to work from. It is it soft, try again heating to bright orange, and non-magnetic, then quench in oil. If it remains soft, it will always be soft, no matter what.

If you successfully got it hard, then try tempering at 350 F. in the kitchen oven (wash the oil off first or you'll stink up the place with oil smoke). Heat and soak at 350 for at least 20 to 30 minutes, then let it cool. It should be a medium hardness, file will cut it, but a pocket knife may, or may not be scratched by the sample. If it is too hard (not fileable without damaging the file), try tempering again at 450 to 475 F. That should have it fairly soft. Learn from your experiments and choose a treatment.


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## seanallen (Nov 13, 2012)

machinist said:


> It depends on how much carbon is in the steel whether it will harden at all. With unknown carbon and alloy content, heat treating is a crap shoot, so about all you can do is try. I would try on a small sample by heating to high red or low orange heat and quench in oil. Check hardness with a file when it is cool. There is always some surface decarburization, so make sure you file deeper than just the surface. If it is hard, then you have some data to work from. It is it soft, try again heating to bright orange, and non-magnetic, then quench in oil. If it remains soft, it will always be soft, no matter what.
> 
> If you successfully got it hard, then try tempering at 350 F. in the kitchen oven (wash the oil off first or you'll stink up the place with oil smoke). Heat and soak at 350 for at least 20 to 30 minutes, then let it cool. It should be a medium hardness, file will cut it, but a pocket knife may, or may not be scratched by the sample. If it is too hard (not fileable without damaging the file), try tempering again at 450 to 475 F. That should have it fairly soft. Learn from your experiments and choose a treatment.


Ok. That sounds like a good place to get started. Thanks!


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

seanallen said:


> Ok. Who is the metallurgist here? I have a knife i made from 9% nickel steel. Im about to finish shaping the blade and i want to know a good way to temper/harden the blade edges.


What was it originally?


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## hpb13 (Apr 17, 2013)

im a knife snob & fanatic. that pigsticker is Very nice. any idea on the rc? love the handle wrap reminds me of the ol ek's.perfect blade size.
great job...


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## hpb13 (Apr 17, 2013)

machinist said:


> It depends on how much carbon is in the steel whether it will harden at all. With unknown carbon and alloy content, heat treating is a crap shoot, so about all you can do is try. I would try on a small sample by heating to high red or low orange heat and quench in oil. Check hardness with a file when it is cool. There is always some surface decarburization, so make sure you file deeper than just the surface. If it is hard, then you have some data to work from. It is it soft, try again heating to bright orange, and non-magnetic, then quench in oil. If it remains soft, it will always be soft, no matter what.
> 
> If you successfully got it hard, then try tempering at 350 F. in the kitchen oven (wash the oil off first or you'll stink up the place with oil smoke). Heat and soak at 350 for at least 20 to 30 minutes, then let it cool. It should be a medium hardness, file will cut it, but a pocket knife may, or may not be scratched by the sample. If it is too hard (not fileable without damaging the file), try tempering again at 450 to 475 F. That should have it fairly soft. Learn from your experiments and choose a treatment.


one trick to increase carbon content is heat it in a fire of charcoal brickets. never tried it but many say it works..


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

Yes, you can carburize the surface that way, then heat and quench for a casehardening. I have use a product called Kasenit that is faster and does a carburize/nitride on the surface, but that surface layer is very thin. Good for a wear part, but will be removed by sharpening.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

hpb13 said:


> one trick to increase carbon content is heat it in a fire of charcoal brickets. never tried it but many say it works..


I prefer charred bonemeal.makes a trippy case hardening.


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## jimijam624 (Nov 26, 2012)

Magus, 

Do you have any pics of the charred bonemeal case hardening?


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Google: "charred bonemeal heat treating"

http://yarchive.net/metal/case_hardening.html

http://www.finishing.com/2000-2199/2108.shtml

http://www.alloyavenue.com/vb/showthread.php?8374-Heat-treating-Iron-Rings./page2

http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/archive/index.php/t-19513.html


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

jimijam624 said:


> Magus,
> 
> Do you have any pics of the charred bonemeal case hardening?


Nope, but LincTex is on the spot and in the shot with his links. 
I like a mix of sand and cat litter too, makes a funky case pattern if you catch it as it turns and quench it in clear oil.slow buffed it looks kind of like Damascus.



LincTex said:


> Google: "charred bonemeal heat treating"
> 
> http://yarchive.net/metal/case_hardening.html
> 
> ...


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## driftpin (Apr 27, 2013)

I have a friend of mine who has a small forge and does knifes and such. I think he was saying he used crane cable once in a while to make knives and he said they came out with a Damascus pattern. I never saw any of the knives made by him from the crane cable, only ones he did from bar stock but does that sound legit?


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

It sounds like it could work, although I have never done such a thing. I'd love to see the process!


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

machinist said:


> It sounds like it could work, although I have never done such a thing. I'd love to see the process!


Do a google search for: " knife made from wire rope "

http://www.farwestforge.com/Forum/bsgview.php?photo=1544&cat=H&by=

http://www.knifenetwork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32928

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/308923-One-year-knifemaking-wire-rope-knife

http://www.homegunsmith.com/Archive/T17192.html


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

driftpin said:


> I have a friend of mine who has a small forge and does knifes and such. I think he was saying he used crane cable once in a while to make knives and he said they came out with a Damascus pattern. I never saw any of the knives made by him from the crane cable, only ones he did from bar stock but does that sound legit?


http://www.seanmichaelragan.com/htm...auty_of_one-piece_cable_damascus_knives.shtml


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## MDsapper (Mar 12, 2013)

how much does he charge for a decent size blade?


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

driftpin said:


> I have a friend of mine who has a small forge and does knifes and such. I think he was saying he used crane cable once in a while to make knives and he said they came out with a Damascus pattern. I never saw any of the knives made by him from the crane cable, only ones he did from bar stock but does that sound legit?


Cable Damascus is some of the best blade steel available, but it rusts like mad!


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Magus said:


> Cable Damascus is some of the best blade steel available!


It has to be hard as hell, there is no way a person can cut wire rope with a hacksaw blade, especially the big stuff from a crane or tow truck.


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## driftpin (Apr 27, 2013)

LincTex said:


> It has to be hard as hell, there is no way a person can cut wire rope with a hacksaw blade, especially the big stuff from a crane or tow truck.


Yea, we used to have to use a torch to cut the cable when there were kinks or if we were recabling a crane.

I don't know if he sells his knives it seems more look its something he does in his spare time. He has a full time job so I'm pretty sure it's just a hobby. I'll ask him next time I see him though and try to get a picture.


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## MDsapper (Mar 12, 2013)

cool beans


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

LincTex said:


> It has to be hard as hell, there is no way a person can cut wire rope with a hacksaw blade, especially the big stuff from a crane or tow truck.


I meant regular stuff, like leaf spring or lawnmower blades, you need a torch or cable cutters for that stuff!


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Magus said:


> I meant regular stuff, like leaf spring or lawnmower blades, you need a torch or cable cutters for that stuff!


A chop saw, or a cutting wheel in a 4.5" grinder do very well.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

That they do! had a fitting made for my grinder to mount a cutting blade.


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## BlacksmithKevin (Jan 15, 2013)

I use my 4.5 angle grinder for cutting leaf and coil springs with no issues. I am hunting some cable down now to it out. Trick is to clean it real well as most of it has grease or other crude on it to prevent rusting.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

I have something you might like, locally we have carpet mills, the dying process will eat regular cable to nothing in a year,I have some which is rust resistant used in the dye houses.its NOT stainless best I can tell.I recently made an 18" bladed whip for a buddy of mine and have some left if you want it, looks to be slightly larger than 1/2"


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

There's an old Bucyrus-Erie crane not far from me that I go and cut pieces off of from time to time. I can cut a piece of that cable. I think it's about .875 inch but it has been a year or so since I have been out there.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

That's a heavy cable!


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## BlacksmithKevin (Jan 15, 2013)

Magus said:


> I have something you might like, locally we have carpet mills, the dying process will eat regular cable to nothing in a year,I have some which is rust resistant used in the dye houses.its NOT stainless best I can tell.I recently made an 18" bladed whip for a buddy of mine and have some left if you want it, looks to be slightly larger than 1/2"


I'll take it!


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

How much?pay the shipping?


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