Inconel

[DC KNIVES]

Has anyone ever used this for gaurds,bolsters or folder parts? The reason that I ask is that I have a small amount.This is tough stuff.Dave

 

[Eric Shaw]

Dave- I think you'd be safe using it for bolsters,guards and liners (not liner-locks). Inconel should polish up very nicely and not tarnish easily. Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

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One Riot, One Ranger
www.shawcustomknives.com

 

[x39]

I don't think that the difficulty in working inconel would be justified in the applications you mention,particularly since most of the useful properties that inconel possesses would never be of benefit to you . Besides, once it's polished, it would appear identical to stainless, which is easier to work with, so why bother?

[This message has been edited by x39 (edited 03-20-2001).]

 

[Centaur]

Some useless trivia:

A few years back I used to work for the US Navy in the Cruise Weapons Program. The bolts that held the launch support structure to the deck were made of inconel. I believe its used in turbine components also.

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Glen AKA Centaur
"I'll be your Huckleberry."
- Doc Holiday

 

[AchimW]

Yes, it's one of them superalloys like stellite and talonite and is, like talonite, made into turbine blades. By the way, 154CM was a turbine blade material, too. I am quiet sure that inconel could be made into a good blade, too.

Achim

 

[x39]

While inconel is "tough", it is not "hard", nor can it be hardened, and would therefore be a poor choice for a blade material. It is a nickel based alloy, and maintains many of the physical properties of nickel. I'm a toolmaker, and had a contract with a firm for ten years making tooling for extruding plastic coated wire and cable. Inconel 718 was used in much of the tooling I made, due to it's resistance to abrasion and high temperatures.

 

[Tom Anderson]

x39 is right.

Inconel cannot be heat treated to make a decent knife blade because of its high nickel content.

It's also miserable to work with because it work hardens quickly.

The main advantage of using Inconel in certain applications is its high resistance to heat and corrosion.

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Tom Anderson
Hand Crafted Knives