Thread: Almost tried damascus with the wrong steel

I was under the impression that some railroad spikes were marked HC (for high carbon) as opposed to the milder steel spikes?

Originally Posted by Magpie

I was under the impression that some railroad spikes were marked HC (for high carbon) as opposed to the milder steel spikes?

This hoary myth was put to rest by yours truly back in the late 1980's. However like Zombies, it doesn't seem to want to die.

There are specifications from the American Railroad Engineering Association that require track spikes marked HC to not be greater than 1030 steel. Low carbon steel spikes are 1010 steel. The nomenclature "high carbon low carbon" is only for the purposes of the AREA specifications. No spike manufactured as a track spike to be used by the railroad industry has ever been made from tool steel greater than 1030. Spikes manufactured prior to 1898 were wrought iron. I received this information from Wellington Industries Engineering department, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sheffield Steel (at the time) who manufactured the vast majority of track spikes used worldwide. It was quite the detective experience too.

This is not to say you can't sharpen them but they are not an edge holding steel compared to so many other available choices. as 1030 they will never get harder than Rc 45 without applying very specific circumstances to the spike that alter the quench like using SuperQuench or an alternate but then the hardened skin is just that, a couple thousandths of skin on a poor steel, or the spike itself, as in forging a spike from tool steel in the first place (redundant), splitting the spike and welding in a tooth of high carbon tool steel (more work), using PW steel to forge the spike (a lot more work), all of which alter the spike to a great degree and push it out of the original claimed potential.

And yet people love to buy spike blades. Go figure!