Here is a good one for the Heat Treat experts

STR

STR

Knifemaker/Moderator
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Ok. I have my reasons for asking this because it did apparently occur in the real world but I cannot get into details about that due to a promise I made. I discovered a knife I own, carry and love is not 1095 as I thought it was when I bought it and was just curious because I discovered there is a 99.9% chance it is actually ATS34, which was done by an accidental mix up at the cutting facility.

My question is.

What would the end result be if ATS34 was heat treated as if it were 1095 by someone that just didn't know?

By end result I mean Rc hardness, and other unforseen technical data.

I can say the knife cuts and keeps an edge but that is about all.

My basic in a nut shell question to the guys in the know is what are the ramifcations of this kind of a mix up?

Thanks.
 
ATS-34 air hardens at 1975deg and tempers at 900 for 2 one hour cycles. 1095 oil hardens at 1500-1550 and tempers at 400. I think that The rockwell would be greatly reduced seeing as the ATS-34 was not brought up to the critical hardening temperature.

The other things that would have an effect on the hardness are soak time at critical temp, was it heat treated in an oxygen free atmosphere, and type of quench.

See if it bends and does not spring back?
 
Striper28 is right , a significantly lower hardness..Those types of things do happen in industry occasionally.
 
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