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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

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
SAE grade (ASTM grade)	Composition	Yield strength	Typical	Maximum	Comments
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 (also known as^[11] music wire) such as ASTM A228 (0.80–0.95% carbon), 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^[12] or stage combat,^[13] 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.

References

^ Engineering.com (23 October 2006). "Springs". Archived from the original on 26 March 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
^ ^a ^b McMaster-Carr catalog (116th ed.), McMaster-Carr, p. 3630, retrieved 3 September 2010.
^ "74-75 Carbon Spring Steel". Precision Steel Warehouse. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
^ "SAE-AISI 1074 (G10740) Carbon Steel". MakeItFrom.com. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Products - Admiral Steel" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2004.
^ "ASTM A228 (SWP-A, K08500) Music Wire". MakeItFrom.com. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
^ "95 Carbon Spring Steel". Precision Steel Warehouse. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
^ McMaster-Carr catalog (116th ed.), McMaster-Carr, p. 3632, retrieved 3 September 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c Oberg, Erik, and F D. Jones. Machinery's Handbook. 15th ed. New York: The Industrial Press, 1956. 1546–1551. Print.
^ McMaster-Carr catalog (116th ed.), McMaster-Carr, p. 3662, retrieved 3 September 2010.
^ Oberg et al. 2000, p. 286.
^ Store, SBG Sword. "Kingston Arms". SBG Sword Store. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
^ "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.