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M2 for a fixed blade?
- Thread starter Mikjk
- Start date
Hi,
M2 is a high speed steel meant mainly for cutting other steels/materials during machining operations, i.e. lathe, milling, and drilling. The reason for its existence is it's ability to hold an edge to a dull red heat without breaking down. It became popular as a cutting-tool steel for manufacturing during WW2. It allowed manufacturers' to vastly increase war material production. Until the advent of HSS cutting tools were made from plain high carbon steels that dulled quickly and easily.
I've ground, sharpened, dulled, burnt, and broken a pile of the stuff over 20 years of being a machinist.
I've even ground some blanks into knife type forms for industrial processes.
I personally wouldn't use it for a knife blade. A blade tends to be pretty thin compared to a tool bit. And HSS can be pretty brittle stuff in a full hard state and maybe wouldn't take much side stress before breaking. And if tempered back to a more reasonable hardness, it most likely wouldn't offer any advantage over cheaper and easier to work with tool steels.
dalee
M2 is a high speed steel meant mainly for cutting other steels/materials during machining operations, i.e. lathe, milling, and drilling. The reason for its existence is it's ability to hold an edge to a dull red heat without breaking down. It became popular as a cutting-tool steel for manufacturing during WW2. It allowed manufacturers' to vastly increase war material production. Until the advent of HSS cutting tools were made from plain high carbon steels that dulled quickly and easily.
I've ground, sharpened, dulled, burnt, and broken a pile of the stuff over 20 years of being a machinist.
I've even ground some blanks into knife type forms for industrial processes.I personally wouldn't use it for a knife blade. A blade tends to be pretty thin compared to a tool bit. And HSS can be pretty brittle stuff in a full hard state and maybe wouldn't take much side stress before breaking. And if tempered back to a more reasonable hardness, it most likely wouldn't offer any advantage over cheaper and easier to work with tool steels.
dalee
- Joined
- May 28, 1999
- Messages
- 2,606
Tell that to the M2HSS Benchmades, it works excellently for a smaller cutting tools. The red hardness is a bit of a waste but its other properties lend themselves well to 5"> knives. If you're going to run it thick though you really aren't playing towards the steels biggest strength, which is edge stability. M2 takes a really thin high performance edge well and lends itself to slicing chores, if you want a prybar there are much tougher steels out there.
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2006
- Messages
- 4,090
I have a homemade hunting knife with about a four inch blade that I ground from an all-hard M2 HSS power hacksaw blade. It's pretty thin and the knife itself is uglier than homemade sin, but I can tell you that just for pure cutting chores it holds an edge like nobody's business.
I can't speak about its ability to withstand much abuse because I'm really careful to just use it for cutting.
I can't speak about its ability to withstand much abuse because I'm really careful to just use it for cutting.
Hi,
I'd bet there is a custom maker or two besides Benchmade also. And I will agree that you can get an edge on it that will cut you wide and deep if you look at it wrong. I've got the scars on my hands to prove it. And I've made blades from it, for slicing through composite materials.
But, it still wouldn't be my personal choice for a regular user because that thin, fine edge is susceptible to chipping. And it might not take very much pry to snap one in half either.
Those slicing blades I made were for cutting through a composite of polyester and foam with a thermo plastic back. The geometry was a 2" long blade, .062" thick, .370" in height. I used a Scandi grind edge, (for ease of forming and sharpening), with a Tanto type tip, (for piercing strength). The machine operators would snap 2 or 3 a week. I do suspect that the polyester was the culprit for the breakage. The stuff is very abrasive and may have dulled the point causing flexing of the blade.
Even though I'm an old, cranky, ornery, cantankerous, machinist, this is just my personal observation on the use of HSS for a knife blade. And your mileage may vary.
dalee
I'd bet there is a custom maker or two besides Benchmade also. And I will agree that you can get an edge on it that will cut you wide and deep if you look at it wrong. I've got the scars on my hands to prove it. And I've made blades from it, for slicing through composite materials.
But, it still wouldn't be my personal choice for a regular user because that thin, fine edge is susceptible to chipping. And it might not take very much pry to snap one in half either.
Those slicing blades I made were for cutting through a composite of polyester and foam with a thermo plastic back. The geometry was a 2" long blade, .062" thick, .370" in height. I used a Scandi grind edge, (for ease of forming and sharpening), with a Tanto type tip, (for piercing strength). The machine operators would snap 2 or 3 a week. I do suspect that the polyester was the culprit for the breakage. The stuff is very abrasive and may have dulled the point causing flexing of the blade.
Even though I'm an old, cranky, ornery, cantankerous, machinist, this is just my personal observation on the use of HSS for a knife blade. And your mileage may vary.
dalee