Old green bear razorheads metal?

[Festivus]

What type of metal are the old green bear razorheads made from?

Are they prone to rusting if I get caught out in the rain but dry them off fairly quickly?

Thanks.

[bobman]

sharpen them, then coat them with a light coat of petroleum jelly that's what we did back in the day

I still use them, I think they take an edge better than the stainless ones that came later.

[Bobby Urban]

any carbon steel head will rust more quickly than stainless and require a little more maintenance.  Bears heads fall into this category - at least those that you are asking about as well as 99% of the heads used by the trad group.  There are some stainless Bears as well as others if that is a concern but a swipe of a chapstick will eliminate 99% of corrosion issues, lasts forever and is easy to carry in the field.

[goingoldskool]

Chapstick.... never thought of that.

[Jon Stewart]

checking some older articles on the Bear head and the only metal mentioned was for the 1982 to present which has an aluminum ferrule and a stainless steal blade.

The early Bear heads were described in color as Aspen Green which are often referred to as Bear Greenie's"

[Bobby Urban]

the old ones are some type of carbon steel and probably on the 49-55 Rockwell as a best guess.  I imagine if you ask this question in the "history" forum someone will provide very accurate information if it matters to you but for sure they can and will rust a bit if not protected.

[Butch Speer]

They were made of what was called spring steel. I think they were valued at 40 or 45 Rockwell. Not nearly as hard as a decent knife but, they sharpen very easily and will definitely kill anything you'll hunt. If you add the "bleeder" blade they measure almost 2 & 1/4". Pretty good sized cut.

[Hud]

IMO if left in a bow quiver when wet, you can expect some. I also used very thin coat of petroleum jelly. Most of the time a small single cut file was all you needed to sharpen and retouch heads.

[Bonebuster]

It does not take much to prevent rust, even in wet conditions.

I frequently touch up my broadheads when I am hunting. Normal handling and in and out of quiver foam can take off the super keen edge we want, so rust is never an issue for me.

The old Bear heads as well as any carbon steel head are all prone to rust...but it is no problem to prevent or remedy.