opinion on 420 J2 stainless steel for a katana

None ? Ummmm ok
smile.gif
First off welcome to Bladeforums, if you stick around long enough it will become an addiction.

420 J2 Steel for a Katana ? Well lets just say I would look at some others first. If memory serves me, the Hibben Fantasy knives have blades constructed of 420 J2. While it makes for a beautiful display steel. I dont know if I would trust it to have sufficient strength for a serious katana. Hopefully someone else will chime in with their opinion as well, I'm also looking forward to reading it.

Dark Nemesis

------------------
<A HREF="http://home.att.net/~dark-nemesis/" TARGET=_blank>
http://home.att.net/~dark-nemesis</A>
All the knives in the world go round and round, round and round, round and round...DAMN, one of them took my wallet !!! :)
 
It would be an excellent alloy for a non functional wall hanger.

For anything else, it would be a horrible choice. Real swords are NOT made of stainless steel.

Go here: http://swordforum.com/ check out their 'university,' actually a FAQ's section; also read the Discussion Forum. If you have an asbestos suit on, and are not deterred by scorn and derision, post a thread about ss kats.
rolleyes.gif


Hope this helps

Walt
 
What Walt said!! Although it would be better than aluminum.

If it is intended to do anything at all stick to carbon steels such as 1084, 5160 etc.

Good luck,

------------------
Gary Bradburn
Bradburn Custom Cutlery
www.toptexknives.com/bradburn.htm

"You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other mans freedom. You can only be free if I am"
 
Stainless steels make lousy functional swords,although I'm sure its more than capable of removing limbs when sharp.The carbon steels are what a real sword would be made of and have good shock resistance.The swordforum is the place to go for sword knowledge.I used to have a broadsword made by the very well known Jim Hrisoulas master sword maker,author of a few books and video's.There are a few great katana makers who also frequent that forum.
 
www.netsword.com is a good place, too.

420-J2 is not really steel ... they only call it "stainless steel" because it sounds better than "age-hardened cheese" ... and of course it's true cheese doesn't rust....

-Cougar :{)
 
It is a pity that Bladeforum members are so quick to bash 420J2. The truth is this steel will cut. Properly tempered and sharpened in a properly constructed sword it would be deadly. It's worth reminding you guys that most of the cutting that takes place in peoples homes on a daily basis is probably with knives made out of 420 or even lesser steels. I appreciate and in fact most of my knives use a better steel than 420. But that's only because I can afford it and have been led to believe by the members of this forum that if a knife is made out of 420 it's not a real knife. It's interesting to note that the inexpensive 420 knife used in the 7" tests actually cut and performed to some degree in all the tests. If a person took some time to sharpen this knife occasionally it would have eventually made as many cuts as the other knives. I have a couple of friends at work that carry knives for misc. tasks. One is a $4.00 Chinese serrated folder the other is a Pakistan lock back. These knives day in and day out do everything that is asked of them as do our kitchen knives at home. The gentleman with the Pakistan knife is especially proud of how well it cuts - he keeps it hair flinging sharp and he shaves his forearm for us regularly to prove it. Go ahead and purchase that katana. It is plenty functional and you will have fun pretending you're a ninja. Perhaps one day after frequenting these forums for a while and should your budget permit you may find yourself purchasing more expensive knives. You don't have to drive a BMW to get to work and you don't need fancy/expensive steels to enjoy collecting knives or to whack away at some brush in your backyard. Enough said.
 
Ya sure a piece of glass or sharpened pice of plastic will cut too,but this doesn't make it a good choice for sword material.420J has its place in the knife world.It's a cheap steel thats corrosion resistant and great for display knives.It has little value as far as performance in a sword.In fact if one were to utilize it as sword material for renactment weapons,there could be tragic results.Alot of custom sword makers refuse to make blades of stainless steel longer than 12 inches due to strength(brittleness)issues.Will it cut off someones arm?sure!Does this make it a good steel choice for a sword?I think not.
 
I hate 420J steel. Not because of the properties of the steel, but primarily because so many of the knives available in this steel are poorly designed and executed.

In a properly tempered in a solid design this steel would make a good workable knife.
 
Hello,

The Katanan`s i make are either 5160 chromium alloy(carbon steel non/stainless) or 1095Hc
that are Clay edge hardened, a Sword blade needs to have toughness and Lateral flexational strength along with Edge holding abilitys to be truly classified as a Using Grade Sword of merit. I think Stainless blades are just a breakage waiting to happen, and when a sword flys apart with its tip travelling at 120 Mph, somones in trouble.

best stick with Carbon based simple alloy steels.

my .02 allen

------------------

Allen Blade
Spokane,WA USA

" You can make great knives and sell a few, Or make Great AFFORDABLE knives and sell many"
WEB SITE : http://hometown.aol.com/bladecutlery/index.html
 
Buy the sword if you want something to swing around, to hold, to put on your wall, to practice sword patterns with, and other stuff like that. If you want it to hack at stuff in the back yard as was suggested, buy a machete. 420J2 is steel, but honestly it doesn't belong on cutting tools seriously designed for performance. Great for lookers/wall hangers for sure. But just keep in mind that the sword is made with materials designed for show and not for use. Get it for show/I want it purposes, not because you want to use it to cut things or you'll be disappointed very quickly. This should be put in a FAQ here- do not buy 420J2 if you want a blade that will perform. And $2 serrated chinese folders are junk. I'm sorry, but they are.

------------------
"Come What May..."
 
Just a note for Average Guy. I'm not going to get into a steel war but I will quibble with your characterization of the 420J2 Katanas as functional. Generally, we refer to functional swords in our industry as those that can be used as a sword in the traditional sense, i.e. for combat. The 420J2 Katanas come sharp and will cut. No question about that. However they aren't functional. They won't withstand repeated blows (the sorts of blows to which one would subject a sword when using it as a sword in combat.)

Someone above mentioned the word "wallhanger." That's pretty appropriate for describing the decorative swords. Understand there is nothing wrong with decorative swords. But they aren't functional in the strict sense of the word.

Take care.

 
You guys didn't freak out as much as I thought you would. Remember, I never suggested that 420J2 is a great steel nor did I suggest that a sword of 420 would be combat ready. What I did mean to suggest is that such a sword is as functional as it needs to be for you to fondle it in front of the TV and functional enough for you to whack at an intruder if need be. Thankfully our soldiers will be deploying with M16's and a sword fight on the way to the grocery store is unlikely. It would be nice for new collectors to be able to buy knives and not be reminded that their knives are a POS. And they are not total POS - They do have some measure of functionality. After 5 years of collecting I do understand some knife basics but I also know that most day to day cutting tasks in and around U.S. homes is done with 420 stainless and that a large number of enthusiasts owned 420 at one time or another and that respected knife manufacturers around the world use 420 in their line. And I agree the choice of steel and other details of sword making are probably more critical and more difficult than in the manufacture of knives. I've just had a lot of this inside me for some time. Thanks for letting me vent. Anyway, I love knives and I can even appreciate a 420 sword in someone elses collection.
 
Well it was apparently obvious that i'm new to blade forums. I'll remember to put more info other than "none". I couldn't agree more about everyones response and I thank you for all the information. I have been collecting knives since I waz little and started making knife handles 3 years ago, which I very much enjoy. I look forward to learning as much as i can from all the knowledgable people on bladeforums. thanx =)
 
Well, it is true that a 420-J2 knife can cut, although it'll need a lot more than "occasional" sharpening.

A 420-J2 sword, though ... swords are not the same as knives -- the proportion of length to thickness and width is very different. That's why stainless doesn't work for swords -- it either breaks or bends. In the case of 420-J2, it'll bend ... about as easily as a sword made of paper mache.

Some of the cheap sword-like objects on the market are not safe even to wave around in the air -- they can fly apart without even hitting anything. Even if safe (and of course most of them are) they don't feel remotely like a sword.

More info at www.netsword.com -- that is the place to go if you're short of buck$ but you want to find something you can afford that's better than a wall-hanger. It's a UBB forum like this one.

-Cougar :{)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top