SHRUG Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 I bought a bunch of 5/16" CRS and 5/16" HRS, the store bought CRS feels exactly the same as a Iron Mind RED NAIL. The HRS on the other hand is harder than Iron Mind RED NAILS. I warmed up up today with 2 60D's and then went straight after the 7" X 5/16" CRS and HRS for some moderate volume work. I did the CRS first and it bends and feels just like a RED NAIL, then I went to the HRS, it bends into a V rather than a U and for this reason it is harder to kink. The rest of the bend and the crush down are moderately harder than the CRS or a RED NAIL. I did not notice a big difference but the HRS is definately harder than the store bought CRS or a RED NAIL. I did 1 piece of the CRS and 4 pieces of the HRS back to back, I was gonna bend more but the batch I am gonna try next came from a different load of steel and I want to compare them when I am fresh. I encourage you guys to try some 5/16" HRS it is harder than REDS and therefore better I am still gonna use official RED NAILS for bending on camera but I am gonna train with the HRS so the REDS feel easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-man Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Must be nice using 5/16" for 'moderate volume work' Keep it up, skys the limit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGuy Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Kink Kong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeP Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 I don't think this is an absolute, like Homer's love of food or gravity. I have 5/16" HRS that @ 7" I can mangle but can't get 6". Clay bent some of both and commented that the 7" feels about like a 210K challenge bar (I think) and the 6" about a 270K bar. Far from a red. Pexter also seriously kinked the 6" with my rags and felt he could have finished it with better padding. For reference, I can nearly get G5s but can do multiple pieces of the 7". But, who's to say the next stick won't be entirely different. Good work though man. Still double underhand? I have been bending double under for awhile and have played with double over but don't have the padding for that style to really work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHRUG Posted July 16, 2004 Author Share Posted July 16, 2004 (edited) I can bend grade fives like a bendy straw, I took some to class with me the other day and bent them like there was nothing in the rag. I still bend double underhand, that style stresses the wrist the most. RED NAILS very easy to bend for me now I use nothing less than a 7" RED for a warm up. A 5" RED is not far off for me! Edited July 16, 2004 by SHRUG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeP Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Thats my point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHRUG Posted July 16, 2004 Author Share Posted July 16, 2004 I had one old RED laying around that was from the late 1990's or very early 2000's that I got from a fellow board member. It was one of the REDS that was darkest in color and was also the hardest stock IM ever produced. I wanted to try it to see how my HRS compares, even though I had already doen 5 REDS earlier I decided to try it a few minutes ago. I mangled it in less than a minute and it felt almost the same as the HRS I bought, and that was after I was already tired. The initial kink was actually easier than the HRS I have. I am gonna order some new REDS and see how they feel. I am sure they are easier than the HRS and the old RED I just did. I heard the new ones are a little harder than they used to be, I will see how many I can bend soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bballdad Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Good work Big Guy!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Beatty Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 Shrug- Send me your address & I'll send you a free 7" x 3/8 round & a 7" x 5/16 square. Hell, I'll even throw in a 7/16 round CRS. One condition - if you bend one, I want it. I'll send you a replacement to bend for your playtime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricMilfeld Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 I found the older, toughest Reds to be on par with the darker variety of Crown Bolt's HRS, I picked up at Home Depot. Inspiring strength, Shrug! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darco Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 John, percentage wise, how much harder would you estimate those pieces of steel are than the average RED ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Beatty Posted July 18, 2004 Share Posted July 18, 2004 John, percentage wise, how much harder would you estimate those pieces of steel are than the average RED ? I'm going to send Eric some of everything to calibrate (which he generously agreed to do). I'll post the numbers when I have them. I played around with the numbers (& I'm probably not right, as it's been 20+ since I've done geometry) but the 3/8 should be about 23-25% harder than the red. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHRUG Posted July 18, 2004 Author Share Posted July 18, 2004 John I PM'ed you my address, I look forward to bending that steel. I am going to do a very hardcore bending workout tomorrow, I might even do two sessions. I will update you guys on my progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PeCz Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 Quick Note: The fact you said the Hot Rolled Steel Feels harder is odd. Hot rolled steel has never been harder then cold rolled.... Cold Rolled was made like this to make it harder then hot rolled.. This must be a diffent kind of processed steel... Because it being Hot Rolled doesent make sence.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 Strossen was saying that several years ago when they were getting steel from Turkey for the bag o' nails, the HRS was actually harder than the CRS. I have some green nails that are made from this tougher stock and they are definitely harder than CRS of the same size. So, in some rare instances, HRS can be harder than CRS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PeCz Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 Hm Intresting. I was in no way aware of this Clay. Ive only been exposed to CRS always being Harder then HRS.. its ment to be that way by the process used Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 Same here, so it was news to me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSW Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 Clay, Is HRS always air cooled? If the steel is hot rolled and then quenched it would explain why some of the HRS is so tough. My Crown Bolt Co. 5/16" HRS is tougher than the Red nail stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 (edited) To be honest, I don't know. I do know, though, that mild steel (aka low carbon) like common CRS and HRS will not harden appreciably by heating it up and quenching it so it's anyone's guess as to why it was harder. We know that steel varies, not only from inch to inch, but from maker to maker. When I was more into metalworking, I tried for a long time to get mild steel (both HRS and CRS) to get harder through heating experiments but nothing really produced the results I was looking for because the steel had a lower carbon content. When I bought some 1050 high carbon steel and had it heat treated it was nearly indestructible, so I could use thinner steel to make stronger armor. Personally, I would be hesitant in trying to bend 5/16" high carbon tempered steel since tempering it improperly could cause it to shatter like glass or melt like butter, neither of which would help someone trying to bend stronger nails. Edited July 19, 2004 by ClayEdgin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSW Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 To be honest, I don't know. I do know, though, that mild steel (aka low carbon) like common CRS and HRS will not harden appreciably by heating it up and quenching it so it's anyone's guess as to why it was harder. My HRS gets really soft if I heat it up to a cherry red with a torch and then let it cool. I haven't tried quenching it, since I was trying to make it easier to bend. Whatever alloy they make 12"x3/8" spikes out of doesn't anneal well at all. I can still only bend a spike ~20-degrees after annealling it. I think it hardens up again after it starts bending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.