Railrod spike knife

[roysha]

I was perusing the Green Mountain Knife catalog the other evening and saw a listing for forged from railroad spike knives.

Is the steel in RR spikes actually high enough carbon to make a decent heat treatable blade or is this just a "look at this cool knife I have made from a RR spike" kinda thing?

Just curious.

[jmort]

I got one from a member here
I do not know the Rockwell hardness, but I did get it sharp.
I like it, but it is more of a display piece for me.

[jmorris]

I made one years ago, it’s sharp but I wouldn’t say it’s a practical knife. Took longer to make it than theuse I have gotten out of it.

[rking22]

Railroad spikes are designed to bend not break. The material spec. Is "not more than .30 % carbon" and that is the "high carbon" spike. The standard spike is .12 % carbon, typical of mild steel. They contain good amount of copper but nothing that allows hardening to knife steel levels. Makes a neat heavy duty letter opener but not a using knife. Most knife steel will be .60% carbon and up.

[roysha]

Railroad spikes are designed to bend not break. The material spec. Is "not more than .30 % carbon" and that is the "high carbon" spike. The standard spike is .12 % carbon, typical of mild steel. They contain good amount of copper but nothing that allows hardening to knife steel levels. Makes a neat heavy duty letter opener but not a using knife. Most knife steel will be .60% carbon and up.

That's pretty much what I thought. I didn't know the numbers but suspected what your summation says.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I`ve seen them in the Smokey Mountain Knife works catalog quite often in several sizes. I had a nice one a Ferrier made up and had on a table at a gunshow many years back. I used it a few times until a buddy of mine absolutely `Had to Have IT`. Robert

[nagantguy]

Was disappointed in mine, however love the various horse shoe knives I have ; fellow makes them at a little shop by where we pig hunt in TN.

[NyFirefighter357]

https://i.imgur.com/b7GP1C5.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/cDXBN7g.jpg

They work ok but are pretty heavy.

[Texas by God]

Nice freezing cold handle to field dress with��

[country gent]

I have seen guys that hammer these out get every thing close to form ten "blend" a piece of 1/8" or 3/16" D2 round stock for the cutting edge.

[roysha]

I`ve seen them in the Smokey Mountain Knife works catalog quite often in several sizes. I had a nice one a Ferrier made up and had on a table at a gunshow many years back. I used it a few times until a buddy of mine absolutely `Had to Have IT`. Robert

Yeah, that's what I meant. Too darn many "mountains" to keep track of.

[buckwheatpaul]

I was perusing the Green Mountain Knife catalog the other evening and saw a listing for forged from railroad spike knives.

Is the steel in RR spikes actually high enough carbon to make a decent heat treatable blade or is this just a "look at this cool knife I have made from a RR spike" kinda thing?

Just curious.

Got one from a farrier years ago....it is great and heavy.....took a while to get an edge on it but man does it hold an edge.....Love mine!

[Gewehr-Guy]

Good buddy of mine was a mechanic for the RR for years, made a lot of knives and other stuff when the foreman wasn't around! He said some of the very old spikes good steel,and he would look for them to throw under his workbench, but the newer ones he said were not good.

[KenH]

As been said the RR spikes are too low in carbon for good knifes. With that said, even the .30% carbon spike will harden to around 50Rc using a Super Quench solution. What some makers have done is forge a RR spike using "high carbon" (1080, etc) steel, then make a RR spike knife from that.

I've made a couple of them using actual RR spikes and it's surprising how sharp they will get, but don't hold an edge very good at all.

[bob208]

they look interesting are heavy. take a good edge but then just about any piece of steel will. but they do not hold that edge.i have a barrel full of rr spikes. the company I was working for was throwing them out. I made tomahawks out of some welded a piece of mower blade in for the cutting edge.

[Potsy]

I dated a gal a long time ago whose Dad made the mistake of showing me his guns & knives. I wasn't some kid from town that was intimidated by such (he didn't really need guns or knives, he was a pretty big dude and I clocked in about 150lbs. at the time), when I expressed great interest in his collection, we got along great (which pretty much doomed my dating his daughter, she didn't get along with her Dad at the time, and apparently I didn't "p*** off Daddy"enough).

Anyhoo, he had a railroad spike knife that was the prettiest one I've ever seen before or since. He said a friend with a forge had made it for him. He had taken great care in its sharpening, polishing, and looked as though it was coated with some kind of polyurethane that really shined it up. It was a mantle piece, he was proud of and should have been.

He died about 15 years ago. Daughter that I dated is an English professor now.

Retrospectively, I never figured I was out much going through life without her, but I always wondered what became of his Ithaca 37 and his Railroad Spike Knife.

[Char-Gar]

I have such a knife made from a railroad spike. It is easy to sharpen and also quick to lose a fine edge. I keep it around the shop and give it a few licks on a good stone after each use to keep it sharp. It is interesting and has some use to it, but for general use, it is not knife steel.

[webfoot10]

Once you get these railroad spike knives nice an sharp, Just reheat them to a bright cherry red, then dip them into a can full of
food grade bone meal. The heat from the blade will suck in the carbon from the burnt bone meal. You may have to do it in two
or three heats. When cool, clean off any scale and polish the blade. Then reheat to a cherry red and quench in oil. Just quench
the edge of the blade about 1/2 the way up the blade, Do Not quench the whole blade. Just keep the edge in the quenching oil
till the blade cools down. This way the edge is hard and a file should not cut it, But the back is soft and will give with any twisting
force. All your doing is caseharding the cutting edge. If the file grabs the cutting edge you will have to redo the bonemeal soak
and retemper. I got this trick from a old blacksmith in PA 40 years ago. Hope you can use the information.
webfoot10

[Gewehr-Guy]

Have heard that some knives made for the Indian trade were made of cheap casehardened iron, and it was customary to only sharpen one side of the blade , to preserve the hard steel skin on the other side.

[nagantguy]

Interesting topic ; as someone mentioned above my beloved horse shoe knives are.stone cold during a MI deer season.

[kywoodwrkr]

I got one from a member here
I do not know the Rockwell hardness, but I did get it sharp.
I like it, but it is more of a display piece for me.

That member also made the anvils, varied sizes, from old track.
Have a small, about 5 inch long, anvil out of old track.
Ideal for tapping on small internal firearms parts.
YMMV

[jmort]

I have one or two of his anvils as well. Very handy.

[Wayne Smith]

Once you get these railroad spike knives nice an sharp, Just reheat them to a bright cherry red, then dip them into a can full of
food grade bone meal. The heat from the blade will suck in the carbon from the burnt bone meal. You may have to do it in two
or three heats. When cool, clean off any scale and polish the blade. Then reheat to a cherry red and quench in oil. Just quench
the edge of the blade about 1/2 the way up the blade, Do Not quench the whole blade. Just keep the edge in the quenching oil
till the blade cools down. This way the edge is hard and a file should not cut it, But the back is soft and will give with any twisting
force. All your doing is caseharding the cutting edge. If the file grabs the cutting edge you will have to redo the bonemeal soak
and retemper. I got this trick from a old blacksmith in PA 40 years ago. Hope you can use the information.
webfoot10
Would finely ground charcoal work?

[webfoot10]

Wayne: The charcoal powder might work as it pure carbon. I've never used it , but give it a try, as it can't hurt anything.
I only used the foodgrade bone meal as I had a gallon can of it. The bonemeal that is used as fertilizer will work too.
webfoot10

[country gent]

The old mix for pack hardening ( case hardening) was bone charcoal and leather. this was packed in a container and heated to temp then container and all was quenched. The packs burning or smoldering kept oxygen out so very little scale formed when done right. For knifes to case harden a length of pipe with 2 caps and a small hole drilled in the caps. screw on cap on fill with the mix push blade in fill full and cap snugly. Heat to temp and soak for while then quench in oil or water depending on material. This process makes a mess when quenched as the vents let guench into the mix making a muddy slop.

[fiberoptik]

Interesting topic ; as someone mentioned above my beloved horse shoe knives are.stone cold during a MI deer season.

That’s why we use warmer handled knives in winter!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pacomdiver]

i have one that i made when my buddy still had a forge back in the late 90s, looks like the one nyfirefighter posted, even with the twisted handle

[Mr_Sheesh]

Casenite/Kasenit (sodium ferrocyanide) might do as well for case hardening. Only case hardens the outer what, 5-10 mils though? Tho I would think the bone meal etc. do about the same. No machinist but know some things :)