A203E corrosion resistance.

jdm61

jdm61

itinerant metal pounder
Joined
Aug 12, 2005
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I was watching some Murray Carter videos and got to wondering how much if any corrosion resistance you might get using A203E as the cladding on a carbon san mail blade instead of plain mild steel? Does anyone have any experience with that?
 
I started using it when I began making San-mai.
Rusts like a bitch.
It has some cool character though.

This is 203E:






 
Karl, what did you use for the "dark" steel in the cladding mix? For a "softer" damascus cladding, would I be as well off using 1018 and 15N20 which I already have in quantity?
 
The core is 1095.
Not sure what you mean by softer. It doesn't harden. 203E is basically 1018 with some nickel. It was the go-to nickel bearing steel in early Damascus making days. It was mostly used with W2 when it was readily available. In the right proportions and up to about 300 layers, you'd get about a 1084 blade after migration.
 
By softer, I mean stuff like 1018 or even 1035 which is somewhere between barely and nominally hardenable. Or like using 410 or 416 which is hardenable to some degree at higher austenizing temps.
Karl B. Andersen said:
The core is 1095.
Not sure what you mean by softer. It doesn't harden. 203E is basically 1018 with some nickel. It was the go-to nickel bearing steel in early Damascus making days. It was mostly used with W2 when it was readily available. In the right proportions and up to about 300 layers, you'd get about a 1084 blade after migration.
Click to expand...
 
I'm still a bit lost on your questioning.
1018 and 203E will both not harden. So, 1018 will not be "softer" than 203E, as in your original question.
15N20 will harden just as hard as the core, so it's definitely not softer.
I could never understand using mild steel as the jacket. It will supply the softer back but doesn't give the visual display that 203e and any of the stainless steels will. Part of the experience of doing this is for cool factor.
If you're gong to do it, why not use something that really talks!
 
Is the jacket your knives just 203E or is it pattern welded?
Karl B. Andersen said:
I'm still a bit lost on your questioning.
1018 and 203E will both not harden. So, 1018 will not be "softer" than 203E, as in your original question.
15N20 will harden just as hard as the core, so it's definitely not softer.
I could never understand using mild steel as the jacket. It will supply the softer back but doesn't give the visual display that 203e and any of the stainless steels will. Part of the experience of doing this is for cool factor.
If you're gong to do it, why not use something that really talks!
Click to expand...
 
Wow! You even get a bit of a "transition" without using the pure nickel barrier. That is cool looking.How thick are the pieces when you start out?
 
I've never used any nickel in my San-mai. I never understood the purpose of using it.
I use 3/8" 1095 as my core and 1/4+" 410 stainless in my normal offering of San-mai.
This stuff shown here in the previous pictures - which, keep in mind I haven't used in over 6 years - was 1/4" that I got from Admiral Steel.
This is stainless:



 
It most certainly is some cool looking stuff!:thumbup:
 
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