Help with Heat treat problem, alloy banding in stainless?????**PIC ADDED

James...Bladsmth, thanks...I kinda thought so..Like I mentioned earlier we tested two of them to destruction and was pleased with the results..Though next time im going to order cpmD2 instead of D2 and cmp154 instead of 154cm..That way I just wont have to deal with it...
 
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I have a bunch of BOHLER K110, D2 and I really like it. If I take it to a 400 or 600 grit finish and the HT and re sand at 600 and higher and buff I can see fine dark webs. Doesn't seem to keep it from holding an edge for a lot of cutting.
 
Just one note for the crowd to consider:

I agree that the problem was most likely in the steel from the start.
You have to remember that steel isn't made for knives....we take industrial steel and use it for our hobby/profession, but it was made for it's physical properties, not how it looks.
I use a Scotch-brite finish on most blades ,and don't have to worry about minor surface patterns.

I also agree with James that CPM steels should not have this problem, and any CPM-154 that has alloy bands is almost surely 154CM. An analysis would be the same, and the steel will harden the same, but the finish should be much better on the CPM version. When suppliers switched from 154CM to CPM-154 ( some still sell both), they may well have mixed the old and new stock, or found a few bars later on labeled "154". This probably isn't as uncommon a situation as one would think.
 
james terrio said:
WARNING: completely off-topic post.




Whether or not you choose to utilize various alloys is of course, entirely up to you.

However... It is wrong-headed, ignorant, unfair and just plain dumb to write off/ignore an entire class of excellent alloys, just because some unprofessional vendor (or his minimum-wage warehouse/shipping flunky) mislabeled a couple bars (and I'll bet my lunch, that's what happened to Justin). I've gotten mislabeled steel before, too... I no longer do business with those firms. I certainly do not disparage an alloy because of their foul-up.

I'm not attacking JK by any means; I'm only posting this because for years down the road, people who are researching good steel will find this thread.
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Since you were so eloquent I might be willing to give it another try;)
I haven't written off cpm steel in general but this certainly wasn't encouraging as far as that particular alloy is concerned.
 
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Justin King said:
Since you were so eloquent I might be willing to give it another try;)
I haven't written off cpm steel in general but this certainly wasn't encouraging as far as that particular alloy is concerned.
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I don't know if "eloquent" is the right word for it, but OK :) Maybe try ordering some from a different supplier, who moves a lot of it. I've never gotten anything mislabeled from Chuck or Aldo.
 
Hi Everyone,
I'd like to help out here if possible. Take a look at the heat number. (Hopefully it is linemarked on the steel itself or your vendor indicated the heat number on the certificate.) If it starts with NP, then it is CPM. If it starts with NA, then it is plain 154-CM. If there is a mix up, then there's not much I can do other than to possibly replace the material from our stock. All of our distributors get the original mill certificates for the chemistry. They should be able to supply you with those certs upon request.

Wolf Creek, please PM me to let me know the specifics on this steel. No posterieor kicking should be needed to make this right. :)

Bob
Niagara Specialty Metals
 
Want to say that everyone has been very helpful here..I also want to make sure everyone understands Im not badmouthing these steels..I just ran into an issue that I was unfamiliar with..The steel itself performed just as expected..
 
nsm said:
Hi Everyone,
I'd like to help out here if possible. Take a look at the heat number. (Hopefully it is linemarked on the steel itself or your vendor indicated the heat number on the certificate.) If it starts with NP, then it is CPM. If it starts with NA, then it is plain 154-CM.
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Thank you for posting, that's good to know :)
 
nsm said:
Hi Everyone,
I'd like to help out here if possible. Take a look at the heat number. (Hopefully it is linemarked on the steel itself or your vendor indicated the heat number on the certificate.) If it starts with NP, then it is CPM. If it starts with NA, then it is plain 154-CM. If there is a mix up, then there's not much I can do other than to possibly replace the material from our stock. All of our distributors get the original mill certificates for the chemistry. They should be able to supply you with those certs upon request.

Wolf Creek, please PM me to let me know the specifics on this steel. No posterieor kicking should be needed to make this right. :)

Bob
Niagara Specialty Metals
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This is good to know, although in my case it would not have helped since the steel was flat ground before I got it, so no factory markings were present.

I did not reply to this post to bad mouth anyone either, and I should have known well enough to share my experiences on this matter without adding my own subjective baggage. I am glad to see NSM stepping in to help. For my part, I'm just not a stainless guy and never have been, so a couple of unfortunate experiences on top of my existing prejudice led me to a fairly predictable conclusion.
 
Justin,
You make a great point. Our linemarking ink doesn't stand up too well when we oil the ground strips. Another point is that many of our distributors buy full sheets and cut them into the size you request. The linemarking will probably be gone then too unless they remark them. In the end, it comes down to the mill certificates. We ship them with our orders and you should be able to get them from anyone else.
Bob
 
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