ArtMetal

What you want to make is nothing new.
There is a 10,000 year old tradition, with techniques, materials, tools, books, classes, and experts who have gone before you.

Its called blacksmithing.

You need to study a bit.
Which is free.
Go to the library, and ask for The Complete Modern Blacksmith by Alexander Weygers, or buy it from Amazon for 14 bucks.
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Modern-Blacksmith-Alexander-Weygers/dp/0898158966
This is a great intro, telling how to do exactly what you want to do on a shoestring budget.

You are also lucky to be in Austin- Austin Community college has a great blacksmithing program.
http://www3.austincc.edu/schedule/s207s/weld207sf.htm
There is an active blacksmithing community in Austin, a lot of great people who know a lot.

Basically, you need to learn more about metals, and working them, before you start just hacking away.
Are you actually going to go out and go mano a mano, with this spear, against a 500lb wild boar?

Whether you are or not, I would suggest starting out learning to shape simple mild steel, before starting to work on mystery metal like a car spring, which being a high carbon steel, is going to be a lot tougher to work.
Mild steel spears are just fine at killing people and animals- Bronze, which is much softer, was used for hundreds of years quite effectively.