bank vault door steel need help

I

ironarmknives

Joined
Jun 20, 2008
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HEY GUYS NEED SOME HELP TOOK DOWN A BANK AT WORK AND GOT THE VAULT DOOR ITS FROM "THE REMINGTON CO. LOS ANGELES CA," VAULT DOOR 6 FOOT TALL BY 5FOOT WIDE GOT TO THE INSIDES AND TOOK THE PINS LOOK LIKE SS 2" X12-15" L RODS AND THE PLATES ARE 6' by 5" wide looks like SS got 20 rods and two big plates 5/8 thick and 20 or so small plates same thickness does anybody know how to tell what i got?. spark test on plates are some stars some dull sparks .what does SS spark like and can i mix with what to make damascus in SS if it SS still have the rest of the vault door to get to big copper plate then looks like SS plate 5'x6' 1/8 thick below it and all bolts look like SS can i press them down and make billets from them anybody know about vault doors help please
clint
 
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I take it you merely are wondering if anyone knows what steels are in the vault door.

You'll probably have to check with the company that made it or find the build sheet for the door. A lot of trouble IMO, but I think it is do-able.

Either way, I suspect the metal won't be anything special nor particularly suitable for knife blades.
 
orthogonal1 said:
I take it you merely are wondering if anyone knows what steels are in the vault door.

You'll probably have to check with the company that made it or find the build sheet for the door. A lot of trouble IMO, but I think it is do-able.

Either way, I suspect the metal won't be anything special nor particularly suitable for knife blades.
Click to expand...

Stole my thunder. I`d say try to find out who made the vault and contact the company to ask what steel it is. Then contact a machinist to ask if it would make a decent knife. You can make damascus with stainless. You just need to find a different stainless that will harden out to a different Rockwell so you can get a pattern when you etch it. Either that or make the billet with a non stainless steel and then blue the blade after you polish it.That`ll give you swirls of stainless mixed with swirls of blued steel for high contrast.
 
You know how some people think that smashing knives with steel hammers prove their toughness?
You ought to try some C4 on that door.

If there is any scarring or burn marks or anything, then the door steel is no good.
 
age of the vault sometimes has significance as to armor.all better safes use copper to slow down the heat of tourches.copper spreads the heat source so cutting takes longer.
 
What you have is a bank vault door. The use of high amounts of carbon or special alloying elements would detract from the ductility and strength needed to resist tampering. It would just shatter more easily from explosives, and be much harder to machine to shape.

Sell it - it has some provenance as a bank vault door, the expense is moving it around. Then buy some actual cutlery steel and make your own damascus - which involves enough knowledge of metals, melting points, working properties, heat temper, and compatibility that you would already know which steels are compatible. And that bank vault doors aren't.

Don't be surprised to find a hollow shell filled with asbestos laced plaster. Do treat it like haz mat until you know it isn't.
 
Well after about an hour working with google it seems like some modern vault doors are made from type 316 stainless steel . I’m no metallurgist but it doesn’t look like a promising blade steel.

COMPOSITION
Type 316 Type 316L
% %
Carbon 0.08 max. 0.03 max.
Manganese 2.00 max. 2.00 max.
Phosphorus 0.045 max. 0.045 max.
Sulfur 0.030 max. 0.03 max.
Silicon 0.75 max. 0.75 max.
Chromium 16.00 - 18.00 16.00 - 18.00
Nickel 10.00 - 14.00 10.00 - 14.00
Molybdenum 2.00 - 3.00 2.00 - 3.00
Nitrogen 0.10 max. 0.10 max
http://www.aksteel.com/pdf/markets_products/stainless/austenitic/316_316L_Data_Sheet.pdf
 
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