Railroad steel for blades

golok

golok

Joined
Oct 20, 2000
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I have heard that railroad steel makes good blades because it is tough.

But I really don't know. I have been told by some people that rail steel has some good qualities for blades.

Anyone has any knowledge of this?
 
I have heard that is is 1065 steel...if so it would make a good blade.

I have also heard that it was 1050....in that case it would make an ok blade.
 
Golok,
I made a knife out of a piece of it one time. Turned out to be really expensive though, after I paid for the train that wrecked..:eek:
:)
 
makes a great small anvil
but if it's got less than 85% carbon I'd pass on it, unless
it's in a Damascus mix. just Me...:)
 
I assume you mean railroad spike steel. Rail steel is different , that's better used as an anvil.
 
Spike steel...the best I can gather is similar to 1040. I have used it for a few knives and it makes a fair knife...quenched in oil and the just give a stress relief draw of about 275F.

It makes a very tough knife with a very saw-like edge...easy to maintain, but edge holding suffers for that. That being said, I still liked the blades that I made from spikes.
 
That was a good one Kit.

I don't kow if this is ture or not but, I heard that certain RR spikes, those used around bends and such, were made of 1095. They had a C of a CR or something marked on the head. I don't remember, I've got a few down in the shop I was planning on adding L6 & pure nickle to for a damscus idea I have.
 
I've heard you can forge a good railroad spike out of 1095:D

Kit, now that's a good one.

Mark
 
The markings you are talking about on the spikes is "HC" and many believe they stand for High Carbon. I have made a lot of RR spike knives just because people like them but I always tell them they are a show piece only. I have used them around the shop and none of them make good knives for me. They just can't handle the abuse.

SO, what if you like RR Spike knives but want the steel to be better? MAKE YOUR OWN. If you are decent with a hammer, forge your own spike out of good steel and then make the knife.

Here is an example of what I did.

I made a damascus billet and forged it into a RR Spike.

Damascusspike1.jpg


Then I made the knife.

damascusspike.jpg


It is for sale on my web site.
 
The info I have, is track steel is 1080 something with boron added. Makeing the steel a work hardening steel.

Old rails are sometimes re-rolled into other things, bedrails for one.

I got a buddy that works at a spike factory as an inspector HC spikes are in the 1035 range, un-marked spikes could be 1018 or so. nonmarked spikes are used in yards and sidelines.

main tracks use the HC designation.

You gotta remember what a spike does. It holds the rail in place on the tie. Why would it be of a harder steel ?? It needs to be tough.

The reson for the HC is they bend less esialy than the lower carbon spike. The HC spikes are used in machines that automatically drive the spike.

Damscus spike, is way KEWL.
 
This is from "The Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel" by United States Steel chapter 25. Chemical composition for rails. weight in Lb. per yard
81/90 Carbon 0.64-0.77% Manganese 0.60-0.90%
91/120 Carbon 0.67-0.80% Manganese 0.70-1.00%
121+ Carbon 0.69-0.82% Manganese 0.70-1.00%
all have 0.10-0.23% Silicon

Couldn't find info on the spikes

WS
 
Well that helped me out, thanks guys. Great pix and damascus Bob.

I was thinking about, and I guess I will, go ahead and make my damascus from the spikes I have (got 9 or so) and put an L6 edge into them. Thanks.
 
insanity, thanks

That just shows me some more variables are avaiable in this recycleing process. :)
 
Originally posted by insanity
This is from "The Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel" by United States Steel chapter 25. Chemical composition for rails.
Click to expand...

Did it mention anything about how they are heat treated?
 
Rail steels are heat treated many ways, for many different sections and purposes. Quite often though, it is the head and sometimes the ends, that will be heated and quenched by various means, such as water mists or blasts to create a differential effect. Necessity, convenience and feasibility are important. Fully quenching massive rails will lead to ungodly warpage. Continous kilns are used in steels that recieve normalizing style treatmeants and others are alloyed in order to achieve certain structures upon cooling in still air. Some even bainitic and austemper style results. Also, small sections, or parts that move in cross overs, junctions may receive full quench and tempers. Size is the biggest issue. 40' of rail makes for a rather awkward issue.
 
We don't have RR spikes here in Italy :(
We use bolts or spring clamps...
Ties are mostly made out of concrete, not wood (not anymore).
 
Book says that after rolling they are cooled from 1000 to 400F over at least 10 hours. Most are left in this state. Only those that will be used in turns have the head heated in an induction coil and air quenched. Residual heat in the rail provides the temper. Hardness is between 321 and 388 Brinell. Whatever that is in rockwell.

WS
 
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