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Inconel blades

Discussion in 'Shop Talk - BladeSmith Questions and Answers' started by SkepJ, Aug 24, 2006.

  1. Aug 24, 2006 #1
    SkepJ

    SkepJ

    24
    Feb 1, 2005
    I've been researching inconel alloys lately and found alloy 718 to possibly have a Rockwell hardness that would be very good for a knife blade - 50. Hard enough to hold and edge fairly well, but not be too brittle or hard to sharpen again. Why use inconel at all? It's more corrosion proof than the best stainless for blades. Even salt water doesn't really effect the stuff. Has anyone actually tried making a blade from it?
     
  2. Aug 24, 2006 #2
    JCaswell

    JCaswell

    2,260
    Mar 12, 2006
    I would say 50 is too soft for a knife. Generally people want to hear high 50s or 60 for a knife blade.
     
  3. Aug 24, 2006 #3
    J. MacDonald

    J. MacDonald

    3,140
    Jun 8, 2000
    One reason might be that Inconel is pretty expensive stuff, but the big reason is probably that it is a real bear to work with.
     
  4. Aug 24, 2006 #4
    Polock

    Polock

    126
    Apr 29, 2002
    Yea, Hard to work, drilling a hole can be a real pain, the stuff seems to grab on break thru and snap bits, endmills and what ever else you use.

    It's big use is for items that need to maintain close tolerances over a wide temp range. It has a very low coefficient of expansion
    .
     
  5. Aug 24, 2006 #5
    MCoughlin

    MCoughlin

    471
    Feb 1, 2005
    I agree that 50 is waaaaaaay to soft. I've used it for thong tubing in the past on a couple of knives but find the polish isn't as nice as stainless or NS. Pins or tubing is all I'd use it for though.
    Mike
     

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