Trying to get the attention of Dr. Fish!
Are there fish hooks made with solid phosphor bronze?
Bronze Hooks
Trying to get the attention of Dr. Fish!
Are there fish hooks made with solid phosphor bronze?
Donald:
I had to pull out my "Not Quite Metallurgy" Cliff Notes, to familiar myself with "Phosphor Bronze".
"Phosphor Bronze is an alloy of copper with 3.5 to 10% of tin and a significant phosphorus content of up to 1%. The phosphorus is added as deoxidizing agent during melting. These alloys are notable for their toughness, strength, low coefficient of friction, and fine grain. The phosphorus also improves the fluidity of the molten metal and thereby improves the castability, and improves mechanical properties by cleaning up the grain boundaries.
Further increasing of phosphorus content leads to formation of a very hard compound Cu3P (copper phosphide), resulting in a brittle bronze with only special uses." ~ from "Not Quite Metallurgy" Cliff notes for technical geeks.
Phosphor bronze is used for springs and other applications where resistance to fatigue, wear and chemical corrosion is required. It is also used in acoustic instrument strings (for acoustic guitars, mandolins, etc...).
After saying all that, may I inquire the reason for this question, on your quest for a Fishing Hook, made from Phosphor Bronze? The keyword in the description of Cu3P, is "castability. Normally hooks are created from extruded molten that is then rolled, to straighten the grain structure of the metal in the wire. Casting causes the grain structures within the metal not be be aligned reducing the elasticity characteristics of the metal. When you reduce a metals elasticity, you end up increasing it's brittleness.
Even if this Copper alloy is used primarily for acoustic instruments strings, and springs, helping reduce metal fatigue (repeated stress on the metal, from compression and tension), I just wonder if there is enough inherent benefits, to consider this alloy for consideration as part of the process of hook design.
Do you know something that I seem to be missing?
Your friend
Have a look in "Finishing Flies"
Someone said that they had some bronze hooks from Mustad.
Hello Donald
Just enough time between flights to check FAOL . . .
Mustad does not make any hooks from solid bronze and I'm 99.999% sure that nobody else does either. Our hooks listed as bronze are our standard carbon steel mixture with a bronze coating on top.
Thanks Dr. Fish, I knew Mustad was a very old company but I didn't think they were BC.
I also thank you, Dr. Fish.
To continue on just a bit, the website for Mustad hooks says that they are high carbon steel. Apparently bronze is the color of the lacquer. Still, I have tried to use a piece of sheet magnet to pick up very small hooks that were spilled and the sheet magnet got no response from the hooks. Thanks again for everyone's help in clearing this up for me.
Ed, I'd place the reason that the hooks didn't react on the sheet magnet. Sheet magnets are, for the most part very weak. I bet you'll find the hooks very attracted to a real magnet. By the way, the term bronzed in hook context deals with the colour on the hook rather than any bronze metal in the finish on the hook.
Happy Trails!
Ronn
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