A2 Ht

M

mdoyle

Joined
Feb 10, 2006
Messages
1,005
Could someone please share with me a reliable HT recipe for A2. I tried the search but I'm sure this question has been asked so many times that finding the answer seems near impossible. I have not used this steel before, but decided to use it on a knife I am making for a soldier heading to the sandbox in January.
This is what I am thinking, for what it's worth:
Foil wrap
preheat of 1200 for 15 mins
hardening temp of 1775 for 30 mins
Plate quench
temper@ 400
Looking to finish @ 59-60Rc
Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance,
Matt Doyle
 
Yes , the 500 F gives you about the best hardness/toughness combo....I hope Sam Salvati sees this !!
 
All good, except try 1750-1760. temper @ 400 or 425 and check your hardness. Despite what the charts say, you may find you're right at your target hardness. Rc60 is the sweet spot for A2. If you're a little too hard, go up 25 or 50 degrees and double temper again. You might end up @ 500F, but I suspect that will yield Rc58.
 
Sam, Are you reading this stuff??? (Heh, heh, heh.....[evil laugh]):D
- Mitch
 
Thanks for that insight, RJ! I added it to my HT notebook.
 
Rj
Thank you for your advice as well. I've made note of it.:thumbup:
Thanks again guys:D
Matt
 
Whoops-I went back and checked my written records. 1775 and 450 temper yields 59.5-60.5 in my shop. Mete, how could I have doubted you? <G>
 
Let's not quibble about 1 or 2 HRc points ! We could add that much with cryo. My point of erring on the softer [tougher] side is that all the comments I've seen about actual use of knives in the sandbox rarely includes combat !! Prying, hammering and other heavy uses are seen. BTW as far as hammering ,knives that have an extended tang such as the BK-7 or many of the Fallknivens are a good idea.
 
Mete: Agreed, and, no quibbling. Just mad at my middle aged memory! In the sandbox, I'd be shooting for Rc58, not Rc60 with A2.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top