Tradepoint question.

[ricktrojanowski]

I am going to try my hand at making some tradepoints for the first time.  I have some 16 gauge weldable steel.  It measures about .05 of an inch.  Does the steel need to be fire hardened in any way or is it good enough the way it is?

[JackCrafty]

I would use it as-is....but what's the hardness rating?  If it's regular mild steel, it might be too soft.  But I dunno, I think it has to have a certain carbon content in order to be fire-hardened.....and that's beyond my expertise.

[Minuteman]

Do all the shaping to one , get a nice sharp filed edge on it then heat it red til it won't hold a magnet then quench it in oil. If your file doesn't sharpen the edge as easily as it did before  you've successfully hardened it. f theres little or no difference then I'd skip the hardening part and make a few to shoot into the ground just to see how they hold up.
 I killed my first primitive archery deer with a tradepoint made from the steel band off an oak barrel. WAY too soft, but it chopped the top of that little button bucks heart to pieces!

[ricktrojanowski]

Thanks for the info Minuteman.  I'll give it a try.

[Minuteman]

Let us know how it goes.

[ricktrojanowski]

I sure will.  I'm finishing up a couple of things and that is next.