Looking for history of 5160 spring steel

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Chris Evans

Ian,

Leaf springs have been made from a variety of steels, not just 5160. Over the years I have seen mentioned 9260, L6 and the higher carbon content 10xx series including 1095.

So we must not make the assumption that just because many leaf springs were made from 5160, that all were of the same material. ...

Very true. I am reading now some of the other materials used for leaf springs and will report back shortly.

... As an aside, making swords and knives from discarded used leaf springs is not a very good idea because these springs develop micro fatigue cracks that are an invitation for later breakage in a sword of knife. ...

Chris, would not some of these mirco-cracks be corrected during the forging process? The bar stock provided by a leaf would need to be worked extensively on the forge to get to a knife or sword blade.

... As another aside, the village blacksmiths in SE Asia tend to only harden the edges with a shallow edge quench and leave the rest of the blade soft, which mitigates the above risk, though it would not work all that well with thin bladed swords, at least not to our expectations. ...

Chris, I agree, but I don't think there are a lot of thin-bladed weapons or tools made from these sources. What I have seen are nearly all fairly sturdy pieces that are designed to last a long time. I know people who have had the same bolo for 20+ years and used it regularly.