Blade from very hard steel?

T

Technohedge

Joined
Sep 9, 2018
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Hi guys, So as Im new to knifemaking I have been practicing making blades from low carbon steel. Im not expecting anything from them just getting used to shaping etc.

A while back i bought a plate of damascus patterned steel from aliexpress (no idea what grade of steel it is) and thought id have a go at making a knife from it as I had run out of other stock.

Anyway this stuff was so hard a file skated across it and wouldnt cut it! I managed to grind it into a knife with an 80 grit belt (took a fair bit of time!). I took it to work and threw it on the hardness tester to find it was between 65-70 HRC! As you could imagine I have had a hard time drilling it.

Im trying to finish it with a handle but cant get through it with a drill bit. Im presuming its stainless as the drill bites and cuts then seems to work harden the material and then refuses to cut deeper than a millimeter. I have tried faster, slower, lube, dry and with a cobalt bit and it wont budge!

Any tips on drilling this stuff? Is there a way I can anneal it? I have a small heat treat forge but its nothing special.

Took the advice of you guys on here as well and sacked off the jig, been doing freehand grinds all the way this weekend. Pic of the offender below:

20180915_183109_1.jpg


20180915_183055.jpg
 
This is one reasion to buy us made Damascus. yes it’s more but at least you know what your getting. When you bought it did thy list what steel it was made from? I find it really hard to beleve it’s 70rc. Damascus can air harden to a point and needs to get a sub critical anneal to become usable. But we don’t know what steel your import Damascus was made from.
 
Nah I have no idea what steel it is, and Im not going to find out from wherever i bought it. It was just a cheap chinese jobby to practice on. Wasnt thinking it was going to be great quality, just something different to the mild I have been using.

Id still like to drill holes in it though :)
 
Get drill bits for ceramic tile and drill that holes :) Can we see better picture of that knife ? Looks like odin's eye damascus pattern from Damasteel ?
 
Technohedge said:
It looks similar to that yeah, probably a copy. Will get a picture tomorrow
Click to expand...
Looks to much similar to me ;)
Watch this video clip I make .... you can drill hole in every known steel . They are very durable drill bits , even you can drill hole with hand held drill ;)
 
Technohedge said:
Hi guys, So as Im new to knifemaking I have been practicing making blades from low carbon steel. Im not expecting anything from them just getting used to shaping etc.

A while back i bought a plate of damascus patterned steel from aliexpress (no idea what grade of steel it is) and thought id have a go at making a knife from it as I had run out of other stock.

Anyway this stuff was so hard a file skated across it and wouldnt cut it! I managed to grind it into a knife with an 80 grit belt (took a fair bit of time!). I took it to work and threw it on the hardness tester to find it was between 65-70 HRC! As you could imagine I have had a hard time drilling it.

Im trying to finish it with a handle but cant get through it with a drill bit. Im presuming its stainless as the drill bites and cuts then seems to work harden the material and then refuses to cut deeper than a millimeter. I have tried faster, slower, lube, dry and with a cobalt bit and it wont budge!

Any tips on drilling this stuff? Is there a way I can anneal it? I have a small heat treat forge but its nothing special.

Took the advice of you guys on here as well and sacked off the jig, been doing freehand grinds all the way this weekend. Pic of the offender below:

20180915_183109_1.jpg


20180915_183055.jpg
Click to expand...
If you have something like this ...it is already hardened to 58 Hrc.. That's why you can not drill hole with ordinary drill bits :) They say core is VG10 steel :eek:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/200...e8c130b&transAbTest=ae803_2&priceBeautifyAB=0
 
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Carbide bits will drill the blade.

Your test at work was either done wrong or the tester is not in calibration. Damascus blades don't reach Rc 65-70 under any circumstance. A pointed out the blade is likely Rc 58 ... or it was before you tried to grind it down.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Carbide bits will drill the blade.

Your test at work was either done wrong or the tester is not in calibration. Damascus blades don't reach Rc 65-70 under any circumstance. A pointed out the blade is likely Rc 58 ... or it was before you tried to grind it down.
Click to expand...


I got Rc66 out of a W2/15n20 billet out of quench, but I had voids so no knife in the end. Rc68-70 is unlikely though.
 
JTknives said:
If you want to send it to me I will run it through and anneal cycle in my oven
Click to expand...

cheers for the offer, but if I cant drill it Ill just glue a handle to it and keep it for display


Its possible (probable) knowing where I work that the hardness tester is broke.

Interesting that the description suggests damascus either side with a VG10 core, as my drill will go through about a mil and then stop dead cutting. Must be hitting the core made of VG10?

Will try carbide drill then stick to carbon steel for a bit! :)
 
If you didn't want to or can't go the carbide route you could try to spot anneal the tang where you want to drill holes with a torch. Keep the blade cool with a wet cloth wrap during the spot heating and let it cool slowly.
 
Spot anneal won't work on the VG-10 core. It will air harden upon cooling. The blade will need a sub-critical or process anneal over several hours.
 
Technohedge said:
cheers for the offer, but if I cant drill it Ill just glue a handle to it and keep it for display


Its possible (probable) knowing where I work that the hardness tester is broke.

Interesting that the description suggests damascus either side with a VG10 core, as my drill will go through about a mil and then stop dead cutting. Must be hitting the core made of VG10?

Will try carbide drill then stick to carbon steel for a bit! :)
Click to expand...
It is not clear to me .............is this stainless damascus or not ? Nothing on ali express about that ? Only info is that core is VG10 ?
Can you check that on yours knive ?
 
Most Chinese makers start with prehardened bar stock and use carbide bits and sharp belts. No need to send it to a heat treater that way. It’s a very fast way to get a knife done.

Hoss
 
I'm thinking the tester is out of whack. They can go pretty far off with minor changes to the adjustment points, or if the damper oil isn't right.
 
Kevin McGovern said:
I'm thinking the tester is out of whack. They can go pretty far off with minor changes to the adjustment points, or if the damper oil isn't right.
Click to expand...

#1 way to get improper tests results is a chipped/broken indenter.

#2 error issue is testing non-parallel surfaces .. like a blade bevel.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
#1 way to get improper tests results is a chipped/broken indenter.

#2 error issue is testing non-parallel surfaces .. like a blade bevel.
Click to expand...
From some observations I wonder if a lot of shops that use Rc testers don't calibrate them as often as they should. I'm assuming that the sensitivity of the test is a lot higher >60Rc rather than the 30 to 50 Rc that is common in labs.
 
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