Hardened 1080 bar stock

That is a heckuva lotta work to get a simple steel to a workable state! I have never experienced that much frustration with 1084, O1, 440C, CPM-154, CPM-3V or CTS-XHP. Am I just mind-boggingly lucky or is there something else going on here? :confused:

Frankly if I were you, Paul, I would throw that "1080" DEEP into the woods and order some 1084 from Aldo. It drills, cuts, grinds and polishes very nicely with the most basic tools, even if you don't "pickle" off the mill scale first. No need to fiddle with it, just start grinding. With good HT, it takes a lovely edge and holds it surprisingly well. Plus, it's extremely affordable.

You've already spent the equivalent of several pounds of good steel in time and energy... stop throwing good money after bad, and get to work with stuff that works.
 
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Page, I agree with you about the lamelar pearlite, but with his primitive equipment, I though the hyper-Ms hold would be his best bet.
As you said, thermal cycling and a spheroidal anneal will put any simple steel in the best condition for any machining operation.



Another possibility is that the steel isn't 1080. If it is an air hardening steel, like A2 , it will be a much trickier steel to anneal.

Mistakes happen all too often in shipping depts. from suppliers. I bet everyone who has ordered more than 100 pounds of steel in their knife making life has had either the wrong type or mis-labeled batch of steel shipped to them. The wrong type isn't always a bad deal. I once ordered 21 feet of 5160 from Admiral. I got 21 feet of 1095 instead. When I called about the problem, they said they would send the right item . I asked how I should ship the 1095 back, and they said, "Oh, just keep it."

Mis-labeled steel is a much bigger problem. You can waste a lot of time working on a knife and have it never harden right because it isn't what you think it is. If you ever have a batch of steel from a supplier and the results are just not adding up right, cut a 2" piece off and send it to them for an analysis check. You will then know for sure if it is you or them that has the problem. In the case of a single bar of steel, it may be best to relegate any suspect material to the scrap bin or use it for welding up fixtures and jigs.

Making friends with a shop or scrap yard with a PMI or XRF gun is also a good thing.
Or, you can start saving up for your own XRF gun. Saving a dollar a week will get you a nice hand held unit by August 2395. I paid less for my first house than what many of those things costs today.
 
lol plus 1! on the last 2 posts...
...
... and sorry to hear about the frustrating time people have been having, most of us have been there
 
I buy all of my steel from Aldo, his 1084 is the real deal with just a pinch of Vanadium in it to pin the grain boundaries (trust me it is a good thing) I don't do stock removal with it, but I did a workshop on making tools without a metal shop recently and was able to shape cutting tools with a file out of Aldo's 1084, then heat treat it with a torch and canola oil (I strongly recommend a proper temperature controlled kiln and engineered quenching oils if you can afford them but if all you have is a Mapp torch and a bottle of cooling oil you can do a usable heat treat on it)

At some point it becomes worth shelling out a little money and just buying a stick of good steel

http://njsteelbaron.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=6372&category_id=9&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=55&vmcchk=1&Itemid=55

-Page
 
james terrio said:
That is a heckuva lotta work to get a simple steel to a workable state! I have never experienced that much frustration with 1084, O1, 440C, CPM-154, CPM-3V or CTS-XHP. Am I just mind-boggingly lucky or is there something else going on here? :confused:
Click to expand...

Mr. Terrio, you know, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that it's a mental deficiency on my part that is the cause of my grief.

james terrio said:
Frankly if I were you, Paul, I would throw that "1080" DEEP into the woods and order some 1084 from Aldo. It drills, cuts, grinds and polishes very nicely with the most basic tools, even if you don't "pickle" off the mill scale first. No need to fiddle with it, just start grinding. With good HT, it takes a lovely edge and holds it surprisingly well. Plus, it's extremely affordable.

You've already spent the equivalent of several pounds of good steel in time and energy... stop throwing good money after bad, and get to work with stuff that works.
Click to expand...

Yea, well remember what I typed above a "possible" mental deficiency on my part? I'm a pretty cheap guy and will probably struggle along with it until it's gone. There's about 8 - 10 feet of it left. This may be a good time to experiment with making machetes.

Anything that doesn't kill ya, makes ya stronger, or so I've been told.

- Paul Meske
 
My sincere thanks to all who offered advice, information, or just a shoulder to whine on.

- Paul Meske
 
lonepine said:
Mr. Terrio, you know, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that it's a mental deficiency on my part that is the cause of my grief.



Yea, well remember what I typed above a "possible" mental deficiency on my part? I'm a pretty cheap guy and will probably struggle along with it until it's gone. There's about 8 - 10 feet of it left. This may be a good time to experiment with making machetes.

Anything that doesn't kill ya, makes ya stronger, or so I've been told.

- Paul Meske
Click to expand...
Just for kicks, order 1 4 foot bar of 1084 from Aldo and make 1 blade from it (just so you have a comparison piece) and when you are done with that I bet you put that piece of mystery 1080 in the corner for emergencies (just like I did with the last 3 pieces of steel I bought from Admiral just before Aldo started selling steel) It is always nice to know that if I ever run out of good steel I have some emergency stock that I will never touch except in emergencies

-Page
 
I have a couple of small bars of Aldo's 1084, so I might just have to try it out. For what it's worth, the 1080 I've been working with is from Kelly Cupples. I know mistakes happen, but he's had a good enough reputation among makers that I'm pretty confident it is what he said it is. I've had no problems with it hardening/tempering like a simple high carbon steel should.
 
Paul,

Nothing ventured, nothing gained(another old saying!). Send me an E-Mail at njsteelbaron@gmail.com. I'll send you a sample of some VERY DRILLABLE 1084. I'm sure that you will find another use for the 1080.(It might work real well for tomato stakes!)
 
lonepine said:
My sincere thanks to all who offered advice, information, or just a shoulder to whine on.

- Paul Meske
Click to expand...

Paul, if the thought of the 1080 beating you continues to haunt you feel free to drop me an e-mail (kevin@cashenblades.com) and I will be happy to walk you through any suggestion I can give for the problems, but my shoulder is normally too dirty to whine on.
 
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