Originally Posted by
DVW
That is what I would suspect as well. I'm guessing that the coil spring I used was .55-.60 carbon (5160, 9260, 1060, etc...). It behaved as if it had even less carbon than old farm implement steel. While it certainly hardened and took a temper, the sparks were not near as abundant. Razors don't have to be very hard. If someone has a broken razor that was made in the 1700's or early 1800's, I'd love to have it for some testing. Even just the broken off toe would be enough. I could send it off along with a chunk of that coil spring for analysis.