Knife Metal Help

A

auzorann

Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
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hi, i'm looking for a little info. i want to cut out knife blades that are very thin. something between .015" and .027" would be great but i have no idea what i'm looking for. it needs to be stainless steel and either have a mirror finish or a shiny finish that i can polish. aslo, once bent it needs to go back to it's original shape.

this video shows exactly what i'm looking for. if anyone can help i would greatly appreciate it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLi7bUayb3s&feature=channel_video_title
 
Just find out what's used in filet knives, or boning knives. Seems like the thin blade and a spring temper is where it's at.

Are you trying to have them sharp, and hold an edge, or are they a prop like the YouTube video?

You could get a stainless kick plate for a door, Lowe's or other home stores sell them. I had one that was very flexable.
 
yeah it's just for a prop. it won't have an edge at all so that won't be a factor. the stainless kick plate won't spring back into shape. i have some thin stainless steel but when you bend it, it stays bent. it has to spring back into shape.
 
Crucible CPM-154 and Carpenter CTS-XHP will both take a very fine mirror polish and can be heat-treated. (both make outstanding "real" blades)

Even though you don't need an edge, if you have either of those steels HT'ed like a regular knife blade, or alittle softer like a folder spring, they shouldn't stay bent, but will be flexible simply because the stock is so thin.

I'm not sure about how well less-expensive stainless cutlery steels like 420HC or 440A will take a mirror polish.
 
very cool. thank you! i can find information about heat treating on this site? also, is there someone here who could do a small sheet for me?
 
They cannot be properly HT'ed by "backyard" methods; fill out your profile; there may well be a knifemaker (with a good kiln) in your area who will help you with that. Otherwise you can have it done by a pro shop like Bos HT or Peters' HT.

EDIT: I just watched the video you linked, and you could probably save money by just buying a bunch of cheap kitchen knives and using the blades from them. Get ones a little bigger than what you need and grind them to your desired profile.
 
Alpha Knife Supply has AEB-L in 0.02" thickness. Have it hardened up to about 60 HRc (in the range of it's standard heat treatment for knives). For very thin blades like this, higher hardness equals more flexibility without taking a permanent bend.
 
Carl_First_Timer said:
For a prop check out Mcmastercarr and look up spring steel.
Click to expand...

Yeah, could work, and be budget-friendly. Here's the specific page for stainless, already spring-tempered. Not sure how "floppy" it would be, though.

I'm still thinking a trip to the Dollar Store for cheapo kitchen knives would set you up just fine.
 
A butchers band-saw blade could do the trick, grind the saw teeth off then you can shape them by beating the edge to make the curve.

Richard
 
for a prop you do not need stainless. Get spring tempered shim stock from McMaster and don't overheat it when you polish it

-page
 
I think many filet knives are made from 420-J2 stainless steel. It's not renowned for edge holding but tolerates repeated bending.
 
thanks guys. i think i'm going to try the shim stock and see how it goes. since it is a prop it doesn't need to be a real knife blade but it does need to snap back to it's original form after bending. that's the most important aspect.

the shim stock can be polished to at least a high shine right? a mirror polish would be best but anything close will be fine i think.

thanks for the help!
 
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