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heattreat
- Thread starter lyonta
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Have you called Peter's? I'm quite confident that Brad is capable of doing it, and he may even be willing to do it if you are willing to pay for it.
Out of curiosity, why bainite? 5160 is an already very tough steel with full martensite, and also already at an edge holding disadvantage do to the lower carbon content. Bainite will give you more toughness which probably isn't needed at the expense of the already marginal edge holding it has. Not saying don't go for it, just curious.
Out of curiosity, why bainite? 5160 is an already very tough steel with full martensite, and also already at an edge holding disadvantage do to the lower carbon content. Bainite will give you more toughness which probably isn't needed at the expense of the already marginal edge holding it has. Not saying don't go for it, just curious.
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith
ilmarinen - MODERATOR
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First question would be WHY?
I would contact any of the major HTers and give them the details of your specific requirements. Most should be able to. It is a matter of how much you are willing to spend to have someone babysit your blade at 500F for a day.
Some notes on bainite:
Bainite forms when austenite cools below the pearlite formation range, and then stays above the martensite formation range for a required length of time. In short - rapid cool from 1500F to below 900F, level off at 500-600F, and hold at a stable temp for ten hours. Cool to room temp. No tempering is needed.
A lot of "Bainite Knives/Swords" talk is hype by the sellers.
A salt pot is really the best method for bainite HT of a blade.
Martensite is a much better structure for knife blades.
If you want bainite knives, you will really need to get a HT oven for the long bakes.
Bainite has two types - Upper Bainite and Lower Bainite. above 650F/300C it forms upper bainite. For a knife you would want lower bainite. That forms between 400F and 600F.
Bainite is a time dependent conversion. While upper bainite happens fairly fast, lower bainite can take many hours. I would guess six to ten would be the minimum.
I would contact any of the major HTers and give them the details of your specific requirements. Most should be able to. It is a matter of how much you are willing to spend to have someone babysit your blade at 500F for a day.
Some notes on bainite:
Bainite forms when austenite cools below the pearlite formation range, and then stays above the martensite formation range for a required length of time. In short - rapid cool from 1500F to below 900F, level off at 500-600F, and hold at a stable temp for ten hours. Cool to room temp. No tempering is needed.
A lot of "Bainite Knives/Swords" talk is hype by the sellers.
A salt pot is really the best method for bainite HT of a blade.
Martensite is a much better structure for knife blades.
If you want bainite knives, you will really need to get a HT oven for the long bakes.
Bainite has two types - Upper Bainite and Lower Bainite. above 650F/300C it forms upper bainite. For a knife you would want lower bainite. That forms between 400F and 600F.
Bainite is a time dependent conversion. While upper bainite happens fairly fast, lower bainite can take many hours. I would guess six to ten would be the minimum.
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Never saw the reasoning to create a bainite blade myself. The first I heard of it was years ago when I knew nothing about knifemaking, but loved Japanese swords. The CAS catalog offered a sword or two in bainite, and after reading what it was, even then left me scratching my head as to why. L6 I think was the tool steel they were trying to get bainite with. The way I see it, pick the steel that has the properties you are looking for. Which, if you are after bainite, I would assume super though is what you are after. Mr Lomas took the words right out. 5160 with a good heat treat (maybe a drawn spine?) should do it for you. But really, I'm just talking out loud here. You do what YOU want to do....and have fun doing it! Hell....look into the L6 if nothing else!
I guess to give the best answer, could you tell us what size of blade you have in mind, and the intended use?
I guess to give the best answer, could you tell us what size of blade you have in mind, and the intended use?
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith
ilmarinen - MODERATOR
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5160 with a HT to get Rc55 would be a spring that would outperform a bainite blade.....and it would be very tough.
The L6 bainite katana hype of a decade or so ago left the impression that bainite is a good blade thing....it is not. On a 13.5" blade ( I would call that shoto-wakizashi), Bainoite would have no real purpose at all.
Here was a good discussion about this subject from a few years back - http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...tages-and-disadvantage-of-100-Bainitic-knives
The L6 bainite katana hype of a decade or so ago left the impression that bainite is a good blade thing....it is not. On a 13.5" blade ( I would call that shoto-wakizashi), Bainoite would have no real purpose at all.
Here was a good discussion about this subject from a few years back - http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...tages-and-disadvantage-of-100-Bainitic-knives