Spring steel

Spring steel is a name given to a wide range of steels ^[1] used in the manufacture of different products, including swords, saw blades, springs and many more. These steels are generally low-alloy manganese, medium-carbon steel or high-carbon steel with a very high yield strength. This allows objects made of spring steel to return to their original shape despite significant deflection or twisting.

Grades

See also: Steel grades

Many grades of steel can be hardened and tempered to increase elasticity and resist deformation; however, some steels are inherently more elastic than others:

Common spring steel grades

SAE grade (ASTM grade)	Composition	Yield strength	Hardness (HRC)		Comments
			Typical	Maximum
1070	0.65-0.75% C, 0.60-0.90% Mn, max .050% S, max .040% P	Normally supplied annealed	165vpn	180vpn	CS70, CK67, C70E
1074/1075 [2]	0.70–0.80% C, 0.50–0.80% Mn, max. 0.030% P, max. 0.035% S [3]	62–78 ksi (430–540 MPa) [4]	44–50 [5]	50	Scaleless blue, or Polished Bright
1080 (A228)	0.7–1.0% C, 0.2–0.6% Mn, 0.1–0.3% Si [6]				Piano wire, music wire, springs, clutch discs
1095 (A684) [2]	0.90–1.03% C, 0.30–0.50% Mn, max. 0.030% P, max. 0.035% S [7]	60–75 ksi (410–520 MPa), annealed	48–51 [5]	59	Blue, or polished bright spring steel
5160 (A689) [8]	0.55–0.65% C, 0.75–1.00% Mn, 0.70–0.90% Cr [9]	97 ksi (670 MPa)		63	Chrome-silicon spring steel; fatigue-resistant
50CrV4 (EN 10277)	0.47–0.55% C, max. 1.10% Mn, 0.90–1.20% Cr, 0.10–0.20% V, max. 0.40% Si	170 ksi (1,200 MPa)			Old British 735 H1steel, SAE 6150, 735A51
9255	0.50–0.60% C, 0.70–0.95% Mn, 1.80–2.20% Si [9]
301 spring-tempered stainless steel [10]	0.08–0.15% C, max. 2.00% Mn, 16.00–18.00% Cr, 6.00–8.00% Ni [9]	147 ksi (1,010 MPa)		42	Equivalents EN 10088-2 1.4310, X10CrNi18-8

Applications

• Applications include piano wire, spring clamps, antennas, springs (e. g. vehicle coil springs or leaf springs), and s-tines.
• Spring steel is commonly used in the manufacture of swords with rounded edges for training ^[11] or stage combat, ^[12] as well as sharpened swords for collectors and live combat.
• Spring steel is one of the most popular materials used in the fabrication of lockpicks due to its pliability and resilience.
• Tubular spring steel is used in the landing gear of some small aircraft due to its ability to absorb the impact of landing.
• It is frequently used in the making of knives, machetes, and other edged tools.
• It is a key component in electrician's fish tape.
• It is used in binder clips.
• Used extensively in shims due to its resistance to deformation in low thicknesses.

See also

• Martensite

References

1. Engineering.com (23 October 2006). "Springs". Archived from the original on 26 March 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
2. McMaster-Carr catalog (116th ed.), McMaster-Carr, p. 3630, retrieved 3 September 2010.
3. "74-75 Carbon Spring Steel". Precision Steel Warehouse. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
4. "SAE-AISI 1074 (G10740) Carbon Steel". MakeItFrom.com. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
5. "Products - Admiral Steel" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2004.
6. "ASTM A228 (SWP-A, K08500) Music Wire". MakeItFrom.com. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
7. "95 Carbon Spring Steel". Precision Steel Warehouse. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
8. McMaster-Carr catalog (116th ed.), McMaster-Carr, p. 3632, retrieved 3 September 2010.
9. Oberg, Erik, and F D. Jones. Machinery's Handbook. 15th ed. New York: The Industrial Press, 1956. 1546–1551. Print.
10. McMaster-Carr catalog (116th ed.), McMaster-Carr, p. 3662, retrieved 3 September 2010.
11. Store, SBG Sword. "Kingston Arms". SBG Sword Store. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
12. "Arnold Stage Combat Sword". Buying a Sword. Retrieved 17 May 2022.

Bibliography

• Oberg, Erik; Jones, Franklin D.; Horton, Holbrook L.; Ryffel, Henry H. (2000). Christopher J. McCauley; Riccardo Heald; Muhammed Iqbal Hussain (eds.). Machinery's Handbook (26th ed.). Ratnagiri: Industrial Press Inc. ISBN   0-8311-2635-3.