Forgot to check the steel grade before I started and made a tiny sword

I was working on a custom order for a letter opener and grabbed a piece of 1095, but it was actually some leftover 1018 from a different project. The quench did basically nothing, so I ended up with a floppy little blade about four inches long. Anyone else ever mix up their stock and get a hilarious result?

3 comments

3 Comments

harper90826d ago

Yeah price.jake is right, it's basically a paperweight now. At least you got a funny story out of it.

price.jake1mo ago

Been there, done that with the wrong steel. I once tried to harden a piece of mild steel for a small chisel and it just would not take an edge at all. Makes for a funny paperweight at least.

caseys521mo ago

Actually mild steel can get a decent edge if you do a really fast water quench. It won't be like tool steel but it's not totally useless. I've made a few scrapers and punches that way in a pinch. The trick is getting the heat just right before the dunk. That paperweight might still have some life left in it.