Flying Steel?

U

UXOguy

Joined
Apr 30, 2014
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Has anyone played with the Flying Steel products? They are the ones that got me into making and learning to throw Bo-Shuriken, but I haven't been able to bring myself to pony up for any of their products? Can anyone give a report?
 
Flying Steel is the only company I know that makes knives out of 1075 steel that actually look like knives and not like gardening tools / instruments. To clarify I am referring to throwing knives with the total length of 10-12" for no spin throwing.
I own 18 FS knives and 6 spikes / shurikens made by Flying Steel and I use them quite often. All their knives are made of 1075 spring steel - and they last a very long time even with my habit of throwing them in sets of 12 at the same target (which means the knives hit against each other quite often and sometime ricochet into the floor tiles). Moreover, I use Fedin's method and the knives hit the target real hard. None of them has got bent or broken. However, I re-tip them periodically after the tip gets squashed after the impacts with other knives (1075 steel is one of the best out there but still, its not as strong as a diamond). For comparison, I have a few Gil Hibben knives and the 420 steel they are made of is a complete joke - all their knives in my routine bend within the first hour.

I know FS offers a life time guarantee that they will replace if the knives break and will re-tip / refinish the knives for a nominal charge.
As every quality product they are somewhat expensive but, as we all know, you get what you pay for... There are some videos on youtube you may want to see - other people are saying good things about them too. Soon will post a video myself.
 
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Thanks for your interest! I'm in the process of setting up a hosted knifemaker's forum (transaction 9247523f3a9f9617f63ce015c029ea9e) so I think I'm ok to comment here. If not, my apologies Bobby - please delete.

I am currently switching to 80CRV2 steel for the following reasons:
- Its a bit thicker so the knives are a bit heavier -- this has been a common request. The thickness makes it easier to grip and to rest your finger on the spine.
- It is imported from Germany and sold by a small company that specializes in knife steel. I'd rather give my business to them than to a big steel distributor.
- It is a true cutlery steel that is easier to heat-treat and can hold a better edge than 1075. So I could make regular knives from it, and someone could covert one of my throwing knives into a cutting knife.
- Overall its a better and more expensive steel.
- I can get it in many different thicknesses, so I can buy all my steel from one place
 
Patrick, how does 80CRV2 compare to 1075 in terms of hardness? What I really mean is its relative impact resistance when banged against a hard surface.
All things being equal if the two knives (respectively made out of 1075 and 80CRV2) hit a concrete wall with the same velocity which one would have squashed its tip more?
 
Regardless of what steel I use, I (or my heat treater) will heat-treat to 48 Rc. This is accomplished by adjusting the tempering temperature. I'm not a metallurgist, but my understanding is that the 80CRV2 will harden more consistently/thoroughly than the 1075, with less distortion/warp. The same can be said when comparing any oil-hardening steel to any water-hardening steel. I don't have a direct answer to your question, but I have every reason to believe that 80CRV2 will be as good as 1075 in an impact test; perhaps better. In the beginning I performed these types of tests, now I rely on customer feedback. For example, I went from 50 Rc to 48 Rc after reports of several tips breaking. I also went from a blunt grind to a more acute grind after complaints of knives not sticking well. Its a constant process of improvement, optimization and compromise.
 
80crv2 is basically 1080 so there wont be much difference between it and 1075. I would suspect 1075 to be slightly tougher though.
 
Flying Steel all the way... If I had it to do over again, I'd skip buying any Cold Steel knives (I won't say they're terrible, I might just be really hard on knives) and go right to learning with Flying Steel. Fantastic knives that hold up unbelievably well. I own a couple of models that are now made with 80CRV2 (previously 1075 on these models, if I'm not mistaken) and I've got nothing but good things to say about the steel. Great feel in the hand (nice and hefty) and superb tip retention (is that a term?).
 
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