New To Stainless

[Jim L.]

I "inherited" a smallish (about 1 sq. ft.)piece of stainless when my B-in-law cleaned out his shop. `Stuff's pretty damn hard/heavy at 3/16 inch thick. Were I to do a knife with some of this would it need tempering? Can some one direct me to a link?

Thanks,
Jim L.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

It would depend on the type of stainless. If it is possible to harden it by heat treatment then generally yes it would make a better knife if it was done because it would become much stronger after hardening.

-Cliff

 

[Jim L.]

It would depend on the type of stainless. If it is possible to harden it by heat treatment then generally yes it would make a better knife if it was done because it would become much stronger after hardening.

-Cliff

First, I meant that the SS was 3/32 thick. Now, would I do it as I treat my CS? I mean tempering in charcoal first (it "non-magnetic at room temp; how do I know when right temp acheived?), then oven harden?

Thanks,
Jim L.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

The process is basically the same, but different stainless steels require them to be held at different temperures for different amounts of time (minutes) and it is usually past the point at which the steel starts to turn non-magnetic. They also need to get a lot hotter, low alloy carbon steels are typically heated to about 1450F but the stainless ones are about 1950 F. Few people will torch harden stainless for these reasons.

-Cliff