# Railroad spikes?



## SDB777

Is it true, that these railroad spikes can be turned into knife blades?

Are they capable of 'holding an edge'?

Is anyone pounding these things into blades here?




Scott (I got a bucket of 'em) B


----------



## justturnin

I have a couple of spikes but have not used any. I have seen some for sale on Craigslist near me. No sure about edge holding. Cory gave me a track for testing Carbon content. Gonna test one and see how it sparks.


----------



## Woodman

I live near an abandoned railroad and I've had quite a few knives made by a blacksmith with spikes I've picked up. If you get a spiked marked HC it will have about .3% carbon, 1030 steel. This is considered low carbon steel and a professional knifemaker would not use this steel. I'm not a professional so I do what pleases me and what works. That being said there is something about forging a blade from a spike you have found. I provided the blacksmith with super quench and he was very impressed with the hardening compared to water or oil. My nephew has had no problem cutting up 3-4 deer before sharpening. I've used one to take the bark off hiking sticks and it works great. My arm gets a good workout also, they weigh around 10-11 ounces. They are more a novelty than a serious knife but if you have one made it will last a lifetime and provide lots of conversation when folks see what they can do. I have also had blades made from masonry nails and high strength rebar, these are also 1030 steel.
http://i594.Rule #2/albums/tt28/lakeridge3/PugsSheaths002.jpg

Reactions: Like 10


----------



## SDB777

justturnin said:


> I have a couple of spikes but have not used any. I have seen some for sale on Craigslist near me. No sure about edge holding. *Cory gave me a track for testing Carbon content. Gonna test one and see how it sparks*.



"Track for testing"?
How does this 'test' work?

Guess you can tell I know absolutely nothing about this.....


Scott (Craigslist huh......) B


----------



## SDB777

Woodman said:


> I live near an abandoned railroad and I've had quite a few knives made by a blacksmith with spikes I've picked up. If *you get a spiked marked HC it will have* about .3% carbon, 1030 steel. This is considered low carbon steel and a professional knifemaker would not use this steel. I'm not a professional so I do what pleases me and what works. That being said there is something about forging a blade from a spike you have found. I *provided the blacksmith with super quench and he was very impressed* with the hardening compared to water or oil. My nephew has had no problem cutting up 3-4 deer before sharpening. I've used one to take the bark off hiking sticks and it works great. My arm gets a good workout also, they weigh around 10-11 ounces. They are more a novelty than a serious knife but if you have one made it will last a lifetime and provide lots of conversation when folks see what they can do. *I have also had blades made from masonry nails and high strength rebar these are also 1030 steel.*
> http://i594.Rule #2/albums/tt28/lakeridge3/PugsSheaths002.jpg





Where is the "HC" marking typically found?

What is this 'super quench', some sort of special formula?

When you say masonry nails, are you talking about 'cut masonry nails'?




Scott (cool knives) B


----------



## Woodman

Scott Cool Knives, The HC is found on the head of the spike. If you have trouble finding one get in touch with me. Yes, cut masonry nails have roughly the same amount of carbon as HC spikes and type 60 rebar which you can buy at Lowes. I emailed Tremont Nail Company and they responded saying they use 1030 steel, 3/10 of 1% carbon.
Here is the formula for superquench. You can make a smaller batch by adjusting the quantities.
I've sold a good number of spearpoints made with rail spikes. I'll see if I have any left, if I do I'll post a photo.
http://magichammer.freeservers.com/robb_gunter.htm

Spark testing is a method of using a grinding wheel to determine the type of steel you have. The shape of the sparks is what guides you.
http://www.capeforge.com/Spark testing.html

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## SDB777

Thanks for the info, I'll have to dig through the bucket of spikes in awhile, it's still pretty cool in the garage/shop...but the heater is running.

Good news is I have made 50lbs of #8 masonry nails laying around. Guess I need to find someone to make them look like blades?




Scott (cool link too) B


----------



## Woodman

Scott, if you don't want the weight of a full rr spike in your knife you can cut off a few ounces of it and make a blade that suits you or 3-4" of 1/2" thick rebar will do the same thing.


----------



## Woodman

From the top is a machete blade cut by waterjet from a farrier rasp. I used a grinder to cut down the raised edges. No edge applied yet. I'll probably sell it as is.
Below that is a spearpoint hammered from a rail spike.
Below the ruler is the biggest cut nails I have at present, #16 at 3 1/2" long, enough steel to make a nice hidden tang blade. 34 of them make a pound. They also make a #20, 4" nail, 22 to a pound.
On the bottom is a small skinner with a blackened Dogwood handle. The blade was forged from a small piece of a Nicholson Bastard file. This steel has more carbon in it than spikes, rebar, cut nails.
http://i594.Rule #2/albums/tt28/lakeridge3/SpikeSpearCutNails001_zps7ecfa615.jpg

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## Woodman

For the knife on top I used a blade made from a wood rasp, higher carbon than a rr spike. The handle is a section of very slow growing Chestnut Oak. This sold for $95 and I got orders for several more. I filled the orders and now I'm enjoying making kitchen knives.
The knife on the bottom has a handle of antler that I stained with instant coffee before sealing it with spar/mineral spirits. The blade is a German Herder made before the Allies bombed the factory in WWII. I used gun bluing on it. Sold. 
http://i594.Rule #2/albums/tt28/lakeridge3/PugsA1Sheaths002.jpg

Reactions: Like 3


----------



## Wildthings

Woodman I wanna thank you for sharing all this info and pictures!! I really enjoy it and it inspires me to try some...maybe

Barry

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Woodman

Barry, I'm very happy that you enjoy seeing this off the wall way that I enjoy making knives. 

Scott, this is what the HC looks like. Sometimes when the machine drives the spike into the tie it flattens/obliterates the letters but even then you may see it faintly.
This is the head of the RR spike knife shown above.
http://i594.Rule #2/albums/tt28/lakeridge3/RRSpikeHead001_zps7fb4920a.jpg

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## SDB777

Thanks for that last photo! Gives me sort of a 'baseline'.

The spikes I have are very rusted, pits and all....been sitting in the ditch for a long time.




Scott (I'm old and rusty too) B


----------



## barry richardson

Wildthings said:


> Woodman I wanna thank you for sharing all this info and pictures!! I really enjoy it and it inspires me to try some...maybe
> 
> Barry


 I second that! I love this kind of stuff. I have about a jillion old files, some day I'm gonna give one a go. Who does your water-jet cutting?


----------



## justturnin

SDB777 said:


> "Track for testing"?
> How does this 'test' work?
> 
> Guess you can tell I know absolutely nothing about this.....
> 
> 
> Scott (Craigslist huh......) B



Sorry, meant "trick" not track. It is the spark test mentioned above. didn't make it out to there to test my spikes last night. See my What just happened...... thread for details:hang:

You got me looking on ebay at spikes last night. They sell for super cheap but I did not see any mention of the HC like mentioned above. I just like the look of them.


----------



## justturnin

Here is the piece I had that I was asking Cody about when he told me about the grinder test. The guess on this piece is that it is High Carbon.


----------



## Woodman

Barry, I use a waterjet shop here in south Jerzee about 45 minutes from me. The waterjet is a mixture of ground garnets and water that shoots thru a nozzle at 900 miles per hour and will go thru 6" of steel.

Chris, love them sparks!

This guy makes the best looking spike knives on ebay, in my opinion. I think he also uses Super Quench for hardening. Not cheap though!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rantanen-Ra...935?pt=Collectible_Knives&hash=item3cd8c9c277


----------



## myingling

Great lookin knives ,,, Them knives want to make me go out back and look few few spikes LOL


----------



## SDB777

I don't have the equipment or the knowledge to make one of these knives...at least, not yet...maybe someday, but that will be awhile down the road.
But at least I know by picking up these 'nails' I will be prepared for the future! Can't believe some of the knives I've seen on eBay and the prices they are getting for them?!?!?! Amazing a spike from the ditch could be so valuable!?!?!


Scott (thanks for sharing some knowledge today) B

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Cody Killgore

Guess I'm a little late to this one...I will agree with pretty much everything Woodman said about the spikes. If you are lucky and do get up to 0.3% carbon on a HC marked spike, it will make a "decent" knife. I would never make a knife out of one and intend for it to be used on a regular basis. They are more of a novelty knife. Theoretically, under perfect conditions, you can achieve around 55 HRC on them. You aren't going to have those kind of conditions but 55 HRC is a little soft for a knife and will not have as much wear resistance as one made out of a steel intended to be a blade. Usually knives are around 60 HRC.

I guess for me, I would rather spend my time and effort using a steel that I know will perform well. Just my $0.02.

They are still cool, just not really a using blade imo.

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## robert flynt

Cody isn't Rc 60 a little high for simple steel? Usually if you go to much over Rc 58 the 10 series steels start getting chippy. You might push 5200 and some of the alloy steels that high. I have some VG10 blades that I got to a non chippy Rc63. They are going to be a booger to sharpen when they dull.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## SDB777

Well, I made it into the garage last night for a look....
Results were less then great, no HC markings on any and I looked through the entire bucket. Maybe the section of track doesn't value better steel holding down the rail? Which made me wonder....

Do you think the HC marked 'nails' are going to be more 'findable' in the curves, the switching yard, or near older sections of the track?


Scott (doesn't need answered, just whining) B


----------



## Woodman

Scott, if you can't find a HC spike and you still want to repurpose some old steel in your possession you might consider forging a blade from a masonry chisel, they have more carbon than a spike.
I found this info relating to spikes. A friend who retired from the railroad told me that the only spikes he ever saw being used were HC. The low carbon content of spikes allows them to bend and not break. If they had as much carbon as a good knife blade they wouldn't work for the railroad.
http://www.anvilfire.com/article.php?bodyName=/FAQs/rr-spike.htm


----------



## rob3232

I found a pile of spikes and plates. Some of the spikes are stamped HC X. If you would like I could ship you some for shipping only?


----------



## Woodman

Rob, that's a generous offer. Most of the spikes I had found also had the HC X stamping or HX S. I think the X and S are the manufacturers.
Nice piece of Ash in your photo. I'm boxing up a MFR box of kiln dried curly/crotch ash heading to the Sunshine state.


----------

