How serious is decarb??

[BCK]

I would like to hear some of your views on decarborization. I fire ATS-34 at 1950-1960 deg. for 20 min. Once in a while, the foil will not seal properly or develops a small hole & I get some decarb

As you know, the blade can be ground & still looks fine. I am wondering if indeed it is fine? Just how deep does decarb. effect the steel? should the knife just be tossed, or is it still useable?
Thanks much in advance!!


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[Matt Janiga]

While I don't work with stainless steels except for fittings on my blades, I can tell you that you don't need to scrap the blade. Since I'm not familiar with the characteristics of many stainless steels, I'm not sure what depth any decarburization would reach. It does depend on a number of variables -- atmosphere, temp., etc. However, like I said, you don't need to scrap the blade. If you are worried about edge-holding ability, just grind a little steel off the edge to insure you are working with "fully leaded," i.e. not decarburized, steel, and you should be fine.

 

[Ken Cook]

The depth of burnout in decarbinization is impossible to detect. My rule of thumb is this. If the blade's for sale, scrap it and start over. if it's for your use go ahead and keep it if you want to, but I wouldn't.
A decarbonized blade is unrecoverable.


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I cut it, and I cut it, and it's STILL too short!