What are lifts made of?

blade and shaft

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

What is vanadium and vanadium steel?

Vanadium is a hard, silver-gray, ductile and malleable metallic element.

Vanadium steel is a type of steel alloyed with vanadium for added strength, hardness, and high temperature resistance. Because of the great effort that goes into the lift, it must 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 carbon. Lifts are usually made of medium carbon steel.

1. low carbon steel

Contains up to 0.3% carbon. This increases ductility, but does not affect strength. Ductility is a measure of how much stress a material can withstand before it breaks.

2. Medium carbon steel

Contains from 0.3 to 0.5% carbon. It is ideal for machining or forging and where surface hardness is desired.

3. High carbon steel

Contains more than 0.5% carbon. This becomes very hard and withstands high shear loads and wear.

What is "forging"?

Forging is a manufacturing process in which steel is deformed (usually while hot) into a desired shape using a compressive force, such as a blow from a hammer.

Which is better?

These metals are not much different from each other as both are used due to their hardness, strength and durability. Although vanadium steel is often alloyed with chromium, this makes the tool resistant to corrosion, abrasion, and oxidation.

Processing

Lift handles are made from a variety of materials, but the most common are hard plastic, wood, and soft-grip variants.

wooden handles

Traditional wooden handles are still very popular and provide the user with a comfortable grip, ergonomic and aesthetic.

Hard plastic handles

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

Plastic handles with soft grip

Soft-grip plastic grips provide the user with a secure and comfortable grip, making it easier to use and less likely to slip off the hands. Note that this model also has a hole at the end of the handle so you can hang it in the tool shed.