Fracture Analysis

mete

mete

Joined
Jun 10, 2003
Messages
15,288
A number of times I have mentioned that a good learning process is to do test heat treating and check what you are getting by breaking it and looking at the fracture surface to get an idea of the grain size you are getting. Over on sword forum, Kevin Cashen has started a thread on this subject ,take a look. http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=44392
 
peter nap said:
Well, as usual, Kevin did a superior job.
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Thank you for the kind words Pete. Considering that I have limited my visits to the general forum to perhaps once every two weeks, I must say that I can offer no defense of that portion of SFI. It is a shadow of its former self, with the He-Man cartoon analogy being very understandable. At times I get the feeling that the average poster has a few years more to worry about zits and prom night.

I still can't say anything negative about Adrian however, he has won my respect for the for the blows he has taken and the costs he has incurred for the pursuit of truth, beyond silly postings on the internet. We don't realize it at this time, but off the internet he has done a great service to bladesmithing and custom knives.

Now that I have heaped some praise on, perhaps laying your cards on the table, as to your personal greivences, could be easier than the creative efforts (humorous, I must admit;)) you put into any mention of SFI. No- I am not upset with you in any way. There are folks all over the net that I think are completely full of $&#@ but I have found the effort required to keep the antipathy going simply isn't worth it. You have no idea how often I have to just swallow my metallurgical facts and pull my fingers from the keyboard, because it just isn't worth it ;) Relax, shake it off and forget about the twerps who want magic cartoon swords, I did, and it feels pretty good :) Heck if you stop into the Metallurgical forum we can start thread about 5160!

But enough of that. I can't knock Adrian, because he gave me an Ric Furrer our own little corner of those forums to have all the metallurgical fun we want! I guarantee you won't find He-Man or any of the other Masterbaters of The Universe there ;).

Since the new forum opened this summer, we have drawn in some very good material scientists, and students, with access to great information and equipment. I am quite excited about the possibilities. In case folks are wondering I am not trying to plug my Forum as much as I am trying to seperate it from many of the other forums at SFI. Ric and I will not suffer fools or kids wanting the sword from the latest video game.
 
That is fair enough, there is nothing like a sour business deal to turn one off from another. I have lots of friends that I am pretty sure they are still friends because I have never done business with them. At least consider not turning folks away from the "Metallurgical Question and Answer forum" None of the nonsense will be allowed there and nobody profits financially or otherwise from it.

I think you would be doing a great disservice to new makers by turning them away from such a resource, considering some of the information they could get elsewhere on the net. We have some guys from a material science dept. in Mexico city that get to play with some of the coolest stuff going. I am happy to have a friend that is into material sciences and writes articles for ASM, regularly stop in. Of course we benefit from Mete's wisdom there as well. Metallography and other resources that used to only be in dusty corners of libraries are becomming quite regular, it is all quite exciting and very much a crontrast to the general forums.

A new smith could get that, or learn how to properly pack steel atoms denser with a hammer at some of the other sites :rolleyes: So while I cannot take an opposing postition on the rest of the forums there, you are still wholeheartedly invited, and warmly welcomed, to our little corner of the SFI.

Now back to this fracture business that mete thought was good enough to bring here, and we sort of trampled on while battling He-Man ;)
 
Now back to this fracture business that mete thought was good enough to bring here, and we sort of trampled on while battling He-Man

Actually, I did. Please accept my apology for that and yes, back to the topic. It was very good.
 
I do have a question Kevin. How are you breaking the specimens before they cool below critical? While I haven't tried to break one at that temperature, It seems that it would still be malleable.
 
peter nap said:
I do have a question Kevin. How are you breaking the specimens before they cool below critical? While I haven't tried to break one at that temperature, It seems that it would still be malleable.
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the specimens are quickly cut off and quenched, and then broken. you are correct, austenite really doesn't like to break. well, heat it high enough and one can make it come apart with hammer, but I have never done anything like that ;)
 
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