Rollin' with Niagara Specialty Metals

[Matthew Gregory]

Got a message a few weeks ago from Bob Shabala that a super secret special steel I had ordered for a super secret special project was about to become available, and so I arranged to swing by to pick it up and see the guys in action.

Bob was quick to show me the new abrasive media blaster they're installing. Holy cow! is this thing huge! The feed pipe from the media hopper has got to be 10 inches in diameter!!!





The media blast tips are mounted to this automated armature - amazing how big these things are! Certainly over an inch in diameter.




The fun stuff to watch is always the hot stuff. Today they were rolling an alloy that had a tremendous amount of molybdenum. When brought to it's ideal rolling heat, it billows smoke and makes for an awesome show.

Here's the kiln. You can see some of the smoke released from the vent at the top of the furnace.



When the steel reaches its optimum temp, one of the guys swings in with a fork truck, grabs the massive piece and feeds it into the rolling mill.




On the other side of the rolling mill two workers wait for the billet to be fed through the rollers. As it comes through, one worker controls it's movement with a pick, while another mans a hydraulic lift to be fed back to the other side of the roller.









Just an amazing spectacle to witness!

[Matthew Gregory]

On our way to the next building, I happened to pass by this stack of massive billets of CPMS90v, each one easily 6 inches thick!!!



On our way to the knife stock room, we passed this mondo bandsaw cutting strips out of a thick pile of sheet stock...



...and another cool machine that flattens sheet stock. It's got a series of staggered rollers that apply force and straighten it to almost perfectly flat.



Here's Bob sitting atop a stack of CPM154 - great guy, lots of steel!



This is the best part, though...


STEEL!!!!!



440c, CPM154, CPMD2, CPMS30v, CPMS35vn, CPMS90v, CPM15v...





...as well as a newcomer!



Thanks again to Bob, Jeff, and the rest of the staff at NSM - it's always a blast to see their operation, and they're just good folks.

One last gratuitous photo, just cuz I dig it:

[cbr900son]

That is some cool stuff! Wish I could have seen it in person!

[Russ Andrews]

Well.....OK......But I won't be the first to ask....

I won't.....

I won't.....

[jll346]

Sweet pictures. Thanks for sharing.

[Paul Savage]

Great photo essay Matt. Thanks for the peek inside.

[cbr900son]

I keep looking at the blocks of s90 and that just amazes me. I guess being a kinfemaker I dotn think about high end steels in sizes like that lol

[Lorien]

so awesome!

[jonnymac44]

Thanks for the cool pics, Matt!! You must've looked like a kid in a candy store. Very cool.

[NickWheeler]

You suck Gregory!!!

Another awesome field trip with super photos! Thanks for sharing!!!

[Patrice Lemée]

Thanks for sharing Matt!

Is it normal that we get excited by steel?

[james terrio]

Knifemakers' "porn". There, I said it.

[RogerP]

Very cool Matt - or rather, very hot!

Roger

[deker]

So, who's got the data sheet on the 4v?

As always Matt, you're a lucky dog, but we appreciate your sharing

-d

[drbarnes]

That looks like alot of fun!

[butcher_block]

4V interesting tho its not the direction i wanted new V steel but looks liek PD1 will be an option at some point

so cough the data sheet you tease

[Matthew Gregory]

I'll see what I can do, bro.

Send me a razor, you scumbag! Judging by every photo I've seen of you, and every time we get together, you can't possibly be using them!!!!

[butcher_block]

i ll see what i can do for you matt

[Matthew Gregory]

Ask, and ye shall receive!!

CPM4v

[jdm61]

The basic data sheet for 4V is already out. It appears to have the wear resistance of S30V or S35VN and impact resistance about 20-25% better than A2, so it slots right in between A2 and L6 in that regard. What I found interesting from looking at some of Crucible's data sheets is that they claim that their CPM versions of the more pedestrian steels like 154CM and D2 show some significant improvement in both wear and impact resistance compared to the regular forms of the steel. The same charts indicate that CPM 3V has the same wear resistance as CPM 154 and impact resistance between that of L6 and S7.