Is heat treatment the only method?

golok

golok

Joined
Oct 20, 2000
Messages
4,453
Is heat treatment the only known procedure for hardening blade to its optimum usage level?

I have been thinking, surely technology has improved by quantum leaps in the past three decades with regard to this "heat treatment" process.

Is there an available method by which steel or iron can be hardened by another method besides fire?

What about something similar to the microwave technology? Couldn't a technology like that alter the molecular structure of the blade?

If there is such a technology available, wouldn't that be faster and more cost effective than heating treating blades one at a time or may be five at a time?

What do the scientists specialising in metallurgy have to say about this?
 
Im sure there might be other "no heat" methods, but I doubt if they are cheaper or easier. Heat treating is fast and cheap, Paul Bos does blades in large batches, in fact he stopped doing Carbon Steel several years ago because of the one at a time thing. Air hardening tool steels can be done in large batches, so it is realy cost effective. Others are welcome to correct, im always open to info regarding heat treat. -- Charles
 
The application of heat to austinite steel causes it to change to marstinite steel (Not sure about those spellings)

It is actually a change in the molecular structure. Sub zero quench helps with the complete martinsite transformation.

I seriously doubt if there is any other way to harden steel into a material servicable for our purposes.
 
Joe Szilaski had done some work with cold forging (work hardening) carbon and stainless steel. Early non ferrous blades ( ie. copper, bronze, and nickle)were work hardened, I plan on some experiments pressure hardening nickle blades, and in Damascus nickle + carbon steel blades. First I would harden the blade as any carbon steel blade, then work harden the nickle with a hydraulic press. It might work, haven't done it yet, at this point just a theory. The reason, nickle damascus doesn't cut very well is due to the properties of nickel, it softens while the carbon steel hardens. This way it may be possible to gain a little cut with the combination.
 
I visited with Bill Moran back in the early winter. This was
the first time I had talked to him in a long time. He describe
a totally different way to heat treat, which still involved
heat and liquid. He said that the metallurgist would think he
was crazy, but this method worked fine on 5160.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top