Am I the only one who swears by junkyard leaf springs for blade steel?
Tbh, I grab old leaf springs from scrap yards and they make awesome knives. The carbon content is perfect once you clean off the gunk. It saves a ton of cash and each piece has its own story. Just make sure to anneal them first to avoid any cracking issues.
You're totally onto something with the annealing step, that's key. I love that you get a mystery steel with built-in history, like some of these springs have seen decades of truck beds and farm work. The heat treat can be tricky since you don't have a data sheet, but once you dial it in, the edge holding is seriously impressive. It makes every knife feel unique, not just another bar of 1084 from a catalog.
Spot the same vibe with folks restoring vintage cars or patching up worn-out boots. They're not just fixing stuff, they're keeping a story alive, same as your spring steel knives. My buddy turned an old barn door into a table, and every nail hole tells a tale. It's about valuing the grit over the generic.