Whats the best steel to make a striker from?

1095 or a an old file. Most any high carbon simple steel, but those two are the best. Assuming the file is of good quality. 1080/84 work OK.

I have a couple feet of 1095 that I will have to try when I get the rivet forge, that my SIL gifted me, up and running.

What might be a good shape for a beginning smith to try?

LeeRoy

A C, or a U. For best result with the 1095, A full shade of red beyond non-magnetic, quench in a brine solution of 13 oz, (half a box) of sea salt or Kosher salt, and one gallon water at about 100° to 110°. Leave full hard and don't drop it, or temper at about 300°. Either way, temper the grip portion, or portions, to blue, stopping the heat colors at the curves.

Thanks for the tips


LeeRoy

Yes I made some years past out of old files. Mostly because you can go to most yard sales or flea markets and get them for next to nothing.

The problem these days is the really cheap files coming in from Red China are surface hardened with carbon, so when you try them for other projects the stuff is barely steel, let alone good for sparking, or keeping an edge.

LD

Acually, that may not be as true as we used to think. A fellow on one of the knife boards had a group of files tested for carbon content, and a cheap Chinese file came out with about 1.3% carbon, beating all the rest. One could harden maybe half the tang and see if it breaks or bends.

Never thought about that Dave. This was back in the mid 1980's. Maybe that's why some sparked real well and some didn't. I just figured some I did a better job on than others and infact it could have been some bad steel.

Case hardened files don't have to be new, or foreign. There are old American files that were case hardened. I found out the hard way during the time I used files for knife blades. At least two different American companies.

quote:

Originally posted by WBE:
A C, or a U. For best result with the 1095, A full shade of red beyond non-magnetic, quench in a brine solution of 13 oz, (half a box) of sea salt or Kosher salt, and one gallon water at about 100° to 110°. Leave full hard and don't drop it, or temper at about 300°. Either way, temper the grip portion, or portions, to blue, stopping the heat colors at the curves.

Wick, I usually just quench my strikers in plain water. What is the advantage of using a brine? Also, when, I quench my strikers, I just harden the face of the striker. I dip the actually part that gets struck into the water and hold it there until it's cooled sufficiently for handling. This way, there's no need to temper the handle.

Hi Josh. True, there is no need to harden more than the strike bar, as long it is a design that will allow you to do that. Brine gives a much less violent quench while at the same time cooling the piece more evenly, faster, and a little harder than plain water. Brine reduces the chances of cracking the piece, as the salt breaks up the vapor jacket almost as soon as it forms giving a more even cooling effect. Uneven cooling is the prime reason for cracking and warp, and 1095 will only reach it's max hardness through a brine quench. However, a water or brine quench is always a risk with thinner steel, such as knife blades.

Thanks for the info. I've often heard of smiths using brine, but never could find out what it actually did to the steel that water didn't. Do you do any of your own blacksmithing, or are you one of the kinds of knifemakers that grinds all his blades?

Just a grinder Josh. Any smithing I do is small stuff.

Just wondering. I have a very high respect for your work! =D

Thanks Josh. I forged a couple of blades years ago, but just did not care much for it. Still had to grind it to finish up, so I figured if I had to grind anyway, I might as well grind it all the way. The end result depends on the heat treat rather than how it gets shaped, but I do admire those who enjoy the forging process, because they carry on a traditional skill, but it just didn't do enough for me.