But of course: http://books.google.com/books?id=OaFKAAA...ca+steel+brands (it should be at the top of several of the pages) .

Ludlum Spring and Steel Company of Pompoton, N.J. began in 1854 and were excellent quality control folks bordering on the edge of insane. In 1906 they began construction on a facility in Watervliet, N.Y. with an electric furnance much like Roechling. Plumbago crucibles were used as well as short bars of either Swedish, Wallon or Styrian charcoal iron. The end product may have actually been better than Roechling and was quite cheap for the end product. At one time industrial spies were sent to work at Ludlum Spring and Steel Company(inc. in 1898 I think) and after a couple of weeks they returned to their master with a report. Ludlum Spring and Steel had the same mixture as their competitor but after 4 hours of heating they were Johnny on the spot with their very specific time table of activity.

I can copy/move this info over to the "Crown Steel" thread if need be to prevent a taint on this thread.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse