M2 steel. What to do

[hdmc1974]

I WAS GIVEN A STACK OF SIMONDS PLANER BLADES. I CALLED SIMONDS AND ASKED HOW TO TELL WHAT THEY ARE MADE OF AND FROM THE SPARK TEST I THINK THEY ARE M2. HAS ANY ONE USED SUCH STEEL FOR KNIFE MAKING? SHOULD I TRY TO WORK IT HARDENED OR ANNEAL AND REHARDEN. OR NOT BOTHER WITH IT AT ALL? I HAVE A COAL FORGE AND THATS IT FOR HEAT TREATING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP.

 

[Chris Meyer]

Looking at the Heat Treating info for M2, I would say that, armed only with a forge, you have little choice but to work the steel in an already hardened state. Assuming it is actually M2, you would not even be able to properly anneal the steel. I would suspect that planer blades are relatively hard, but even changing the temper of this steel would be problematic.

That said, you should be able to grind the hardened steel without too much trouble, but you'll probably use up a lot of belts. A carbide drill bit should be able to get you any holes you may need for handle pins.

Chuck Bybee at Alpha Knife Supply says of M2; "This steel gets very sharp and has excellent edge holding. M2 has been used by Benchmade and Geber and is known for its edge holding." He has some slightly different heat treating info for this steel, if you want to take a look.

Since the M2 was free and looks to be a decent steel, you might as well make a few knives and see how it performs for you.

Good luck!

 

[hdmc1974]

Looking at the Heat Treating info for M2, I would say that, armed only with a forge, you have little choice but to work the steel in an already hardened state. Assuming it is actually M2, you would not even be able to properly anneal the steel. I would suspect that planer blades are relatively hard, but even changing the temper of this steel would be problematic.

That said, you should be able to grind the hardened steel without too much trouble, but you'll probably use up a lot of belts. A carbide drill bit should be able to get you any holes you may need for handle pins.

Chuck Bybee at Alpha Knife Supply says of M2; "This steel gets very sharp and has excellent edge holding. M2 has been used by Benchmade and Geber and is known for its edge holding." He has some slightly different heat treating info for this steel, if you want to take a look.

Since the M2 was free and looks to be a decent steel, you might as well make a few knives and see how it performs for you.

Good luck!

Thank you for the reply Chris. I'm going to give it a try. This way I can cut out my least favorite part of knife making, the heat treat and temper.
Simons makes D2 and M2 blades. And the sparks are orange so i believe they are M2.
My 2x72 that I'm building should be done soon. And belts on order.