[TheForge] Tool Steel--This should be OT I think

[Andrew Vida]

David Childress wrote:
> The real pity of all these changes in steel is that the cheap used
> steel that hobbist smiths depend on is all going to the steel mills
> somewhere and not staying around for you and me.  It is even worse
> when it is old steel or wrought iron.  The mills do not care what it
> is and soon there will be no more "pure" steel or wrought iron since
> it is not made any more.  

	I found a load of about 30 tons of very high quality wrought iron this 
past fall.  I got about 3 tons of it out before the scrap yard came in 
for the pile.  There is a lot of wrought out there, but you have to keep 
your eyes open and know what you're looking for.

	As to not making it anymore, this is a pure matter of economics.  Were 
there demand, someone would probably make it.  I say probably because 
market research isn't always tuned in to the real world.  I've been 
thinking that there may be a good demand for WI in applications where 
good corrosion resistance is desired but the cost of stainless steel 
cannot be justified.  A great multitude of applications come to mind.  I 
wonder if anyone in the industry has pinged the market for this.  When 
good cheap steel became available, people seemed eager to run away from 
the old standard, but in the years since Byers stopped making wrought, I 
think the shortcomings of steel for certain applications have become 
apparent.  I don't think too many people in industry are aware of the 
old material's virtues.