What are tack lifters made of?

16th August 2021


What are tack lifters made of?


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		Blade and shaft
		The blade and shaft of a typical tack lifter are made from a single piece of forged vanadium steel or carbon steel.

		What are vanadium and vanadium steel? Vanadium is a hard, silvery-grey, ductile and malleable metal element. Vanadium steel is a type of steel alloyed with vanadium for extra strength, hardness and high temperature stability. Because of the high levels of force applied to the tack lifter, it needs to be made from a strong piece of metal.



		What is carbon steel? Carbon steel is a type of steel alloy with a minimum carbon content of 0.3% The properties of carbon steel depend on the amount of carbon it contains. There are three main types of carbon steel: low, medium and high. Tack lifters are typically made from medium carbon steel.

		1. Low carbon steel Contains up to 0.3% carbon. This improves ductility but has no effect on strength. Ductility is a measure of how much stress a material can take before it fractures.

		2. Medium carbon steel Contains between 0.3 to 0.5% carbon. This is ideal for machining or forging and where surface hardness is desirable.

		3. High carbon steel Contains more than 0.5% carbon. This becomes very hard and will withstand high shear and wear.

		What is “forging”? Forging is a manufacturing process whereby steel is deformed (usually whilst hot) into desired shapes by a compressive force such as hammering.

		Which is best?
		There is little that separates these metals, as both are used for their hardness, strength and durability. Though vanadium steel is often alloyed with chrome which gives your tool a resistance to corrosion, abrasion and oxidisation.

		Handle
		The handles of tack lifters come in many materials but the most common are hard plastic, wood, and soft-grip varieties.

		Wooden handles
		Traditional wooden handles are still very popular and provide the user with a comfortable grip that is both ergonomic and aesthetically pleasing.

		Hard plastic handles
		Hard plastic handles are very popular as they are lightweight, ergonomic and very durable.

		Soft-grip plastic handles
		Soft-grip plastic handles provide the user with a sure and comfortable grip which promotes ease of use and reduces the chance of your hand slipping. Note that this model also has a hole in the end of the handle so that you can hang it up in your tool shed.