Cryogentic treating 440C worth the effort?

Jake Evans

Jake Evans

Joined
Dec 13, 1999
Messages
1,729
I've got some neck knives in 440C in the works and have been thinking about having the blades cryogenic treated, has anyone had any experience with this? Will it really enhance the properties as much as people say it will? Any input will be appreciated.

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Jake Evans,War Chief of the Terrible Ironic HORDE, Wielder of the Mighty Blade SOUL STEALER
 
I just Heat treated two blades for a fellow
knife maker friend out of 440c. One I cryoed
the other I didn't. The one cryoed Rc,d at
61.5 The one I didn't Rc,d at 58. The Cryoed
blade was alot tougher. You could tell by the
way it ground.

mvknives@lightspeed.net
 
cryo is absolutely necessary for complete marstinite transformation and needs to be done after full hardness and before tempering, not at the end of the cycle. if you send your blades to paul bos he will do it that way EVERY time...at only $60 for 20 blades...plus return shipping and a modest handling (packing) charge. hes been doing mine for 18 years....the iconel boxes he puts the knives into that slide into his furnace cost more than all the heat treating equipment most knifemakers have....do it right the first time.....send it to him.

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
According to your better heat treaters, cryo is just another "standard" step in the treating/tempering process of 440C and ATS34.
This should be standard practice with quite a few of the "stainless" steels and is considered to be an industry standard. As previously stated, any 440C blade that is not cryogenically treated is sub standard and will not live up to performance expectations.

C Wilkins

 
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