Rusty RR spike haul changed my heat treat approach

Pulled 40 lbs of RR spikes out of a scrap yard in Boise last month. Old ones, 1920s era, way softer steel than the new stuff. Spent a whole weekend testing hardness on 15 of them, the difference is night and day. Anyone else found age makes a bigger difference than brand on reclaimed steel?

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patricia_hayes23h ago

Old RR spikes are actually higher carbon, not softer, so your heat treat changed because you were working with better steel.