Forged Stainless Steel

R

RGRAY

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Aug 30, 1999
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I have a forged stainless steel dagger made for me in the late 1980's, but I haven't seen where anyone else is making forged stainless.

Why is that?

Any information on forging stainless would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
Is it a Sean McWilliams piece by chance? :) Sean got real sick from forging stainless, IIRC. Not absolutely sure on that.

I forged 440C stainless once. Not something I'd repeat.
 
Rick, There's been a book thats been out for several years now called the "Hand Forged Knife" by Carl Schrone. Its mainly about forging knives out of different type of stainless and a number of other tool steels like D-2, A-2, and even M-2.
 
Thanks guys,

Mike,

No, it's now Seans what do you mean Sean got really sick forging stainless; why?

Why wouldn't you forge it again?

Is it better than other forged steel?

How rare is it?

Thanks Ray, but I'm just looking for a little experience with it. :)

If I posted a picture of it; you would DEFINITELY know who made it. :eek:

Back in the late 80's I just thought that if it was stainless it would'nt rust.

It's either 440C or 154cm (?).

The knife maker came back and said that he had never used stainless before, but the knife really came out nice.

He is now a master blade smith.

It might be his only stainless steel knife.
 
Jim Hrisoulas is rumored to have "forged everything"....:p


Personally, I have forged 440C at high temps, as well as ATS-34. Mostly just for fun. I heat-treated them in oil, with a homemade cryo + tempering. One of them turned out around 52 Rockwell....not bad, but not good enough for a knife...:rolleyes:


I think Master Williams has forged crucible steel...:p
 
Most stainless steel is very red hard (meaning it doesn't move well under the hammer), and also air hardening which becomes a big problem because of all the thermal cycles involved with forging a knife.
There are some stainless alloys that take to it better than others, and it can be done, but not as well usually. I think Randall actually offers forged stainless blades still, but they use an alloy (440B?) that isn't very common and not as high performance as some of the newer steels available.


I don't know for sure, but I think the issue with getting sick is the high alloy content. Stainless steels have a much higher alloy content. Some of the alloys involved, like vanadium, are very harmful and make the fumes involved with working the steel at high temperature very dangerous.
 
Ray, like I said, I'm not certain. I have been told that he developed breathing difficulties and some wasting that lasted months. I was also told it was from sucking in metal vapors from alloying elements in the SS. Sean forged 154CM (knife I have), so those elements would have to be chromium and molybdenum. I've also read he forged 440V, so it may have been vanadium poisoning.

That's really all I know and I probably shouldn't have said anything without better info. However, if it was toxic, I'd be remiss if I didn't caution you to do more research.

As for the 440C. It moved hot like I was pounding 1084 or damascus cold. I beat on that danged thing it seemed like forever. Then I HT'd it like I normally did in the furnace. It certainly didn't perform any better, though it ended up RC 59-60. I think there has been a general concensus that there is nothing to really be gained forging stainless except for profiling a bar to a shape with curves and such, so one doesn't need such a wide piece of stock for stock removal. Thermal cycling doesn't reduce grain to the small sizes it does with carbon steels because of the natural larger grainsize of the non-powder stainlesses.

It just wasn't worth it to pursue.

Sorry that is all the help I can give.:(
 
I've forged ATS-34, but it's not something I plan on doing anytime soon. SS is air-hardening, so it's got a super small window in which you can hammer on it without possibly cracking/crumbling it.

There's no benefit to it (IMHO) so it's just a waste of time. I only did it because I had to make some kitchen knives and I didn't' have steel wide enough... so I thought, "What the heck!?!?"
 
Daniel Koster said:
I think Master Williams has forged crucible steel...:p
Click to expand...

That He has, and some stellite 6k , thanks to Kit.

I have had that piece of stellite on my cutting board since it was forged, and have not touched the edge. It still cuts just fine.
 
I forge "everything" incluyding all the stainless blades I've ever made. I've got a 4# straight pein hammer I forged down from a 4" bar of 440C, all by hand.

Stainless isn't any fun to forge, but really, as long as you're carefull with ventilation, and your heat, it's no worse than forging something like vascowear.
 
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