"Steels" tutorial

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  • lkenefic

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 19, 2011
    3,778
    Hello Everyone... I just happened upon this forum and was curious to know if anyone had a link to a good primer on the various types and compositions of steels used in knife making. There's a bunch of information on the internet, but I was hoping to separate the wheat from the chafe... Thanks!
     

    smokey

    2A TEACHER
    Jan 31, 2008
    31,412

    smokey

    2A TEACHER
    Jan 31, 2008
    31,412
    http://www.pdfbook.co.ke/details.ph...y=Technology | Engineering&eid=5759&type=Book

    download this and read it. Understanding steel is more than understanding alloying elements, you've got to have a grasp on carbide formation, grain size, what the matrix is composed of, and other goodies.

    Jenni just shared that in her book a teacher in her early 30's is sleeping with a student that's 19 and started talking about weird emotional plot lines and such. After remembering this book in the link, I decided to read it again. Apparently she was about as interested in the austenite grain boundary location's effect on ferrite formation in a hypoeutectoid steel as I was in her book about the luckiest student ever.
     

    smokey

    2A TEACHER
    Jan 31, 2008
    31,412
    http://www.crucibleservice.com/products.aspx
    So for giggles, I was poking around the crucible website today. Looking at their data sheets for different steels was a pretty good gold mine for comparative information on steels. They give wear resistance tests through either Crossed cylinder adhesive wear testing or CATRA testing and Charpy impact test data for a variety of steels. It's a good starting point to get information about steels you may consider for a knife. It's also a good way to find how to best utilize the steel in your knife. (p.s.-Check out the cpm-m4 toughness and wear resistance compared to other high end steels...woot woot contego. However, that 10v looks pretty interesssssstttiiinnngggg......)

    If you see your knife is cpm-s30v, and you see that s30v's transverse charpy numbers are 10 ft./lbs compared to 2.5 ft/lbs for 154cm or 440c, it tells you that you can get away with a much shallower angle on the edge without worrying about it chipping. With this data, you may decide to knock your edge back on your s30v blade and get better cutting performance from it rather than keep the edge steeper like on your 154cm or 440c blades.

    If you're planning on a knife purchase for edc in a humid area, the APP numbers in a 5% NaCl bath may also lead you to the s30v with it's 250 millivolts result compared to 154cm at about 120 or 440c at about 75. It's well over twice as resistant to corrosion as the 154cm and over 3 times more resistant than 440c.

    http://www.crucible.com/PDFs/DataSheets2010/dsS30Vv1 2010.pdf
    http://www.crucible.com/PDFs/DataSheets2010/dsD2v12010.pdf


    p.s.- found another good read on phase diagrams explaining carbides in stainless steels(using 440c as an example)
    http://www.calphad.com/martensitic_stainless_steel_for_knives_part_1.html
     

    Mt Airy

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 28, 2010
    1,444
    Frederick county
    http://www.crucibleservice.com/products.aspx
    So for giggles, I was poking around the crucible website today. Looking at their data sheets for different steels was a pretty good gold mine for comparative information on steels. They give wear resistance tests through either Crossed cylinder adhesive wear testing or CATRA testing and Charpy impact test data for a variety of steels. It's a good starting point to get information about steels you may consider for a knife. It's also a good way to find how to best utilize the steel in your knife. (p.s.-Check out the cpm-m4 toughness and wear resistance compared to other high end steels...woot woot contego. However, that 10v looks pretty interesssssstttiiinnngggg......)

    If you see your knife is cpm-s30v, and you see that s30v's transverse charpy numbers are 10 ft./lbs compared to 2.5 ft/lbs for 154cm or 440c, it tells you that you can get away with a much shallower angle on the edge without worrying about it chipping. With this data, you may decide to knock your edge back on your s30v blade and get better cutting performance from it rather than keep the edge steeper like on your 154cm or 440c blades.

    If you're planning on a knife purchase for edc in a humid area, the APP numbers in a 5% NaCl bath may also lead you to the s30v with it's 250 millivolts result compared to 154cm at about 120 or 440c at about 75. It's well over twice as resistant to corrosion as the 154cm and over 3 times more resistant than 440c.

    http://www.crucible.com/PDFs/DataSheets2010/dsS30Vv1 2010.pdf
    http://www.crucible.com/PDFs/DataSheets2010/dsD2v12010.pdf


    p.s.- found another good read on phase diagrams explaining carbides in stainless steels(using 440c as an example)
    http://www.calphad.com/martensitic_stainless_steel_for_knives_part_1.html
    Well I have to admit I did not read the links but after reading your post I think I am glad that I have 4 knifes in S30 V steel
     

    lkenefic

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 19, 2011
    3,778
    I'm holding out for S30V as well. I kind of kick myself as I've bought blades in 1095 Crovan (a KaBar) and an AUS8 SOG. I'll keep them, and use them, but my next purchase will be s30v...
     

    Mt Airy

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 28, 2010
    1,444
    Frederick county
    check out the Buck Vantage pro it is S30 V I like it so much I just got a vantage pro force. Yup I have both of them so that says I liked the design it fits in the pocket like no other. easy to keep sharp. I can't say enof good stuff Buck has a winner in my book.
     

    smokey

    2A TEACHER
    Jan 31, 2008
    31,412
    check out the Buck Vantage pro it is S30 V I like it so much I just got a vantage pro force. Yup I have both of them so that says I liked the design it fits in the pocket like no other. easy to keep sharp. I can't say enof good stuff Buck has a winner in my book.

    One of the great things about the vantage pro is the wonderfully thin, hollow-ground blade. The s30v allows it to be pretty thin, while still retaining toughness which add up to make it a great slicer. Mine has a very shallow grind on the edge and combined with the thin cross-section makes it cut with much less effort through cardboard, food, etc than my much thicker contego. My vantage pro came perfectly centered and locked up like a bank vault just a hair early. It's a great knife for the money...especially since you know bos heat treated it correctly to perform up to its potential.

    vantage-pro.jpg
     

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