Apologies if this is the wrong place to ask this....but

upnorth

upnorth

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Nov 25, 2006
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If rough use (battoning) knives with basic similarities, say grind angle, material thickness, heat treat applicable to the specific steel, etc. -Basically trying to remove as many variables as possible.- ........Do different steels behave differently in below zero temperatures outdoors. Do I have a higher probability of knife breakage with wood processing in the cold with say a stainless or semi stainless steel, as opposed to a higher carbon like 1075/1095 ? As the weather gets colder I tend to be less rough with my knives to the point were I simply switch to a hatchet. But I do have this peripheral question in the back of my mind. Do some steels stand up better to shock in colder weather than others ? Is it as basic as warmer weather materials behavior? That 1075/1095 etc. is inherently tougher to begin with, which follows through in below zero weather ? Or is below zero weather going to compromise tool toughness more or less universally and equally ? Thank you.
 
Yes. It's called the ductile-brittle transition temperature (DBTT). With martensitic steels (which most knives are) there is a sharp drop in toughness below a certain temperature. This temperature can vary based on heat treatment and chemistry.
 
One Xmas I went out for a tree with a hawk type hatchet a friend had traded me off for something .I took one wack and lost half of the blade.I guess it was about 5 below 0 farenheit.
Frank
 
Larrin said:
Yes. It's called the ductile-brittle transition temperature (DBTT). With martensitic steels (which most knives are) there is a sharp drop in toughness below a certain temperature. This temperature can vary based on heat treatment and chemistry.
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Do you have any recommendations on a recipe that can be used in the manner described? Diff heat treat, sandwich construction, mass, ...would like to hear more. w
 
kwakn said:
Do you have any recommendations on a recipe that can be used in the manner described? Diff heat treat, sandwich construction, mass, ...would like to hear more. w
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It's hard to say much due to lack of information on knife steels, but there are some rules of thumb. In general, lower carbon and higher toughness steels are expected to be higher toughness at low temperatures. Nickel additions improve low temperature toughness. A steel like 15N20 might be a good starting point if low temperature toughness is a requirement.
 
Larrin said:
It's hard to say much due to lack of information on knife steels, but there are some rules of thumb. In general, lower carbon and higher toughness steels are expected to be higher toughness at low temperatures. Nickel additions improve low temperature toughness. A steel like 15N20 might be a good starting point if low temperature toughness is a requirement.
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And 15n20 rises to the top agian
 
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