Blade Steel Characteristics/Qualities

SALTY

SALTY

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Mar 19, 2000
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BG-42, 440, 440V, 420, AUS-8, ATS-55. XYZ, ABC, CIA, OU812, etc, etc, etc.

Without memorizing metalurgical charts and tables; and without going back to college, are there some general guidelines as to the characteristics and qualities of the more popular blade steels for 1>Corrosion resistance 2>Edge retention 3> Ease of sharpening 4> Other qualities that knife blades face in everyday use?
 
To really know about the list of steels you mention the best thing is to look at a reference. Joe Talmadges Steel FAQ will tell you a lot.

http://www.bladeforums.com/features/faqsteel.html


My general tips are that chrome tends to be a bad thing if you like sharp edges. Chrome makes the alloys hard, lumpy, and more brittle. High purity alloys and cryogenic quenching help to smooth out (reduce the carbide particle size) steels, the stainlesses particularly need the help. A nice clean carbon steel will easily take a really sharp edge. For the stainless alloys it can help to add some vanadium and/or tungsten to reduce grain size to get a sharper edge. Molybdenum will toughen a steel, but tends to make it much tougher to sharpen. BG-42 has a lot of everything, but is very pure due to vacuum remelt processing. It has many strengths, stain resistance, and yet takes a very sharp edge with medium effort.


[This message has been edited by Jeff Clark (edited 03-24-2000).]
 
Just what I was looking for. Thanks for the lead; it was a good one.
 
There are as many opinions on this subject as there are knifemakers. There are no simple answers. All the new super steels (CPM's) contain some Chrome, some of them a lot of it. Forging and/or proper heat treating likely make as much difference as the steel being used.

ATS-34, ATS-55 and BG-42 all have 14% Chrome and 4% Molybdenum. 440C, 440V and 420V have even more Chrome. All will take a fine edge, some will hold it longer. Low alloy, high Carbon steels have little or no Chrome and make great, good or bad knives depending on who's making them and how.

But hey, if this were easy we wouldn't need these Forums...
smile.gif


------------------
Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
 
Go to the Crucible Particle Metallurgy site: http://www.crucibleservice.com/crumain2.htm

There you can learn about tool steel, its' fabrication and heat treat, and see tables comparing various steels' toughness and hardness.

As far as the best alloy, that depends entirely on what you are going to do with the knife. Walt
 
Sorry, moved post

[This message has been edited by ZUT&ZUT (edited 03-25-2000).]
 
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