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Steel
Steel is the foundation of every axe we make. Carefully selected and responsibly recycled for performance and durability.
Steel is an iron-based alloy whose properties can be precisely tailored through careful composition and processing. By working exclusively with recycled, high-quality steel from Ovako, Gränsfors Bruk ensures an optimal balance between hardness, toughness and durability in every axe head. This close collaboration allows us to use steel that meets both our performance requirements and our environmental ambitions.
Steel Tailored for Axe Production
The steel that Gränsfors Bruk uses has been specially created to produce the perfect axe head. The steel must not be too hard, nor too soft and pliable. Gränsfors Bruk maintains a constant dialogue with Ovako to secure a steel quality that is optimally suited for axe production.
The Nature of Iron and Steel
Iron is the fourth most common element in the Earth’s crust, but pure iron is relatively soft and flexible. Steel is an alloy of iron mixed with low levels of other elements, such as carbon, silicon and manganese. Steel alloys are formed when melted iron has metallic or non-metallic elements added to create a new material.
These alloys usually have new properties that differ from those of the constituent ingredients. A large number of different steels can be made using this process, depending on whether the steel needs to be hard, durable or pliable. Carbon acts as a binder, so the amount of carbon determines the properties of the steel.
Why recycled Steel?
Gränsfors Bruk uses steel from Ovako that derives entirely from recycled scrap. The scrap is sorted into different grades, and the steelworks uses a mix of these to produce the steel.
Like all industrial processes, manufacturing steel affects the environment. Gränsfors Bruk has chosen to work with Ovako for good reason. As one of Europe’s largest and leading steelworks, Ovako has a strong commitment to the environment and invests heavily in product development, process development and recycling in order to minimise environmental impact.Recycled Steel from Ovako
Ovako’s product development is leading to new types of steel that are more durable and have a longer useful life. At the same time, its process development is steadily reducing the use of carbon, oil and other consumable materials per tonne of manufactured steel. The recycling of scrap metal also plays an important role in protecting the environment.
An element can neither be created nor destroyed, instead circulating around society and the ecosystem in an eternal lifecycle. Being based on iron, steel can essentially be recycled ad infinitum, which has resulted in the formation of many scrap-based steelworks that use scrap metal as a key ingredient in their production.
However, recycling is nothing new in the steel industry. Processes for smelting scrap metal and manufacturing new steel products have existed since the 19th century.
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