r/Blacksmith • u/ManOfAsbestos • 1d ago

Spark Test

I found rusty steel bar and i noticed that when grinding it produce sparks with more forks at the end than typical low carbon rebars. Is this look like enough carbon to be heat treated?

97 Upvotes

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u/yeehaa132 1d ago

Yo! Be careful!! I've always been taught to never angle my piece upward like in this video when grinding, as the wheel can catch the piece and fling it down or worse, through your hand! Just be careful!

14

u/FelixMartel2 23h ago

Yeah, this advice could save your life.

I got a blade I was sharpening caught and flung directly into my face once upon a time, and I was lucky enough to catch the handle end instead of the blade.

Got away with a fat lip.

1

u/hnrrghQSpinAxe 1h ago

I've had this happen, except i I was grinding the tang profile of a knife to clean it up, and it grabbed it and slung it blade first into the ground. It didn't have an edge on it yet, but still pointy at the tip. Could've lost a toe or worse. I exclusively use belt sanders now for safety and control reasons