How I Became a Knife Steel Metallurgist

Fun stuff. Of course, many of us have heard of the "weed out" courses. For anyone who had deluded themselves into thinking that they wanted to be a physician, organic chemistry was the major weed out. For someone like my oldest son who majored in chemistry, it was just another somewhat challenging course. What was the weed out in your field?
 
It seemed like Physics and Calculus 2 were big ones. The classes that challenged me weren't always the ones that were feared.
 
Another GREAT article. I truly enjoyed reading your history. It sounds like your high school was much the same as the high school I went to - small. I think there were 17 or 18 in my graduating class.

I would have liked some year dates to help provide some perspective in time line i.e. where you say: "We moved to Panaca, Nevada when I was 8" could have read "in 19xx We moved to Panaca, Nevada when I was 8".

Again I'd like to say THANK YOU for sharing your vast knowledge. I think I can speak for everyone on the forums we really appreciate the work you (AND your Dad) have done for knifemakers.

Ken H>
 
Larrin said:
It seemed like Physics and Calculus 2 were big ones. The classes that challenged me weren't always the ones that were feared.
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I think a lot of "weed out" classes have as much, or more to do with the professors than the subject. I did terrible in high school physics, but aced my college physics class, and actually quite enjoyed it. I failed my first "intro to calculus" class in college, but then went on to ace the rest of my college level math courses, including calc 1. Calc 2 I did get a C in, IIRC, but my professor was a 4ft tall Korean man, with narcolepsy, and I could only understand every 3rd word out of his mouth. Nice guy, but he didn't do much for my math career. :D
 
I agree that it is often the professors that strike fear into the hearts of students.
 
You did very well to find something you are passionate about. It is also awesome you are helping to contribute your expertise to this craft. Nowadays whenever someone starts asking me in depth questions on steel and heat treating i just say "go to knifesteelnerds.com" I also love being able to contribute and thus be part of your work (if only very small)....what a cool concept that is.
 
timos- said:
You did very well to find something you are passionate about. It is also awesome you are helping to contribute your expertise to this craft. Nowadays whenever someone starts asking me in depth questions on steel and heat treating i just say "go to knifesteelnerds.com" I also love being able to contribute and thus be part of your work (if only very small)....what a cool concept that is.
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Personal recommendations are my favorite. :)
 
Yeah, I discovered that initially in high school. Strike fear or bore you to tears. I got an A in physics my junior year because the teacher was really good. Got a B in Chemistry my senior year because the old teacher's replacement was not so good. But with math, once it got to weird, which would have been second semester algebra II stuff in high school and the later part of the quarter or semester in college algebra, I just hated it. I got an A in Algebra 1 in HS with the same teacher that I had for physics two years later. It went downhill from their. Less interesting teacher meant that I got a B in Geometry and and C in Algebra II. That was one of two B's and the only C that I got in four years of high school.
Larrin said:
I agree that it is often the professors that strike fear into the hearts of students.
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Yeah, I had one or two of those in college where you just parroted back the reading material.
Larrin said:
There are also poor teachers that are easy so you don't learn anything but still get the A.
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As a someone who grew up in a small town and liked knives your story resonates. I'm sure I'm not the only one. I chose a welding carrier because I thought metal was super interesting and it felt like welding was like a modern blacksmith. I got as far as teaching and inspecting and realized that what I wanted was a metallurgy degree. I cant take that time away from my family to get one. I think there are a lot of us out here in similar situations. So congrats for making the right choices. Also thanks so much for taking the time to break down the parts of the education that are the most interesting for this community.
 
I greatly respect those that are able to go back to school. I don't think I could do it. I knew I had to get it done all at once.
 
good article.
since you work in the field, how many plants in US make tool steel or high carbon steel? who is left after Crucible and Carpenter? I bought 'new old stock' tool steel from companies like Jessup and Simonds but they aren't in that business anymore. That might be a good article for 'knifesteelnerds' is who makes steel in the US now.
When I worked for GKN Automotive/Precision Forming, we used to buy 1045 & 1050S from Gerdau/Macsteel in Arkansas, not the sort of place you associate with steel mills. Nucor has a massive plant in eastern NC, located on the sound so they can bring in scrap by barge. They seem to make mostly A36 there.
 
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jdm61 said:
Fun stuff. Of course, many of us have heard of the "weed out" courses. For anyone who had deluded themselves into thinking that they wanted to be a physician, organic chemistry was the major weed out. For someone like my oldest son who majored in chemistry, it was just another somewhat challenging course. What was the weed out in your field?
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For us it was anatomy and physiology. We take the same one that the doctors take. The other was medical microbiology. Same course the docs take too.
 
Great article and discussion.

I had a different path. I was taught physics and math starting at around age three by my physicist grandfather. I learned medicine, anatomy and physiology, and biology from the medical side of the family - Dad, Mom, and Grandmother (the physicist's wife). I learned chemistry and more advanced biology and anatomy on my own between age 8 and 18. I ended up tutoring the nursing school students in my junior and senior high school years. I was granted full library privileges ... including the research section ( not open to most students) ... at old Dominion (First it was called The Norfolk College of William and Mary, then Old Dominion College, later ODU). ODC had made my Grandfather a professor emeritus, so there were always professors available to me who would answer questions I had. I audited some classes at age 16.

College started at the USNA, but I left fairly early. I became a research chemist without a degree, and attended night school at ODU. Life and a serious accident made me shelve finishing a degree. I never stopped buying and reading textbooks ( many of them old), and studied metallurgy to the degree it can be self taught. Many of my misconceptions and out of date things are due to reading books from the 40's and 50's. My references to troosite gets a chuckle for guys like Larrin:)

Eventually, I landed in Shop Talk. Here we have knowledgeable people who share, and will correct my errors. I learned a ton of great info here.

My great thanks to Larrin for his contributions. His studies will advance metallurgical knifemaking for many years past his life. His willingness to document them here and on his blog ... and hopefully in some books ... is a credit to him and his dad's influence.

I have a research project getting ready to start that may provide Larrin and some others with data to find some new knifemaking directions.

As so the learning goes on .......................................
 
Yes your rule should be to learn something new every day ! My biggest jump was just after I finished school. Going from 1000X magnification on optical microscopes to
100,000x electron microscopes .Wow ! you could actually see what's going on !
But don't throw out the old stuff. I was fascinated by old metallurgical techniques of the Peruvian Indians of hundreds of years ago - investment casting and other weird stuff.
Even in the late 1900s many things could not be explained by modern scientists. In HS I got skilled in bluffing my way into restricted libraries in NYC. Being bigger and looking older helped
Well I was. [yes Ma'am I'm doing very important research in pre-Columbium metallurgy ] The famous Italian artist Cellini said of the Peruvians "compared to them , I know nothing ! "

The very sad thing about the whole story is that the Spanish were in Peru for the GOLD. Huge amounts of beautiful art was lost in the process ! :mad:
 
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