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CincySlicer17

CincySlicer17

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Jul 27, 2018
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https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...921579805998.145324.1455900148&type=3&theater

I recently bought a blade off Etsy. Its handmade and forged from W2 steel. Overall the blade looks nice but it has these rough pit marks along the lower edge of the knife ? The knife was custom made do I don't know if its worth making a huge deal over unless the overall durability of the knife is compromised. I wanted to get some opinions on what it was and what you would do in my circumstance.
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If it's from Etsy...then who knows? But it isn't running along the edge, so whatever quality it is, the edge wont be affected. It almost looks like tiny inclusions dispersed throughout the middle of the bar and grinding it down exposed them.
 
I'd have to know more about the steel, and composition/heat treat, etc.

It almost looks like two steals welded together, and that is the transition line. Maybe wrought iron and steel, but the surface behind and in front don't look like wrought iron.

What was his description? San Mai? Layered steel? Welded?
 
Here is his description :

HORRIBILIS BLADES W2 TOOL STEEL HEAT TREAT

I thermal cycle all my W2 to reduce the grain size as small as possible and evenly distribute the alloying components. This drastically increases the toughness and overall quality of the steel. Just like 1095, W2 needs a fast quench, whenever possible I brine quench W2. This maximizes hardness and edge retention. Some models are quenched in fast oil due to their especially thin edges that will crack if quenched in brine. For these models, the edges are so thin a fast oil quench achieves the same overall hardness and edge retention. A clay Hamon is available on all W2 models. Models are tempered down to between 60 – 64 HRC depending on their intended use.
 
I have a custom kitchen knife that shows some of the same markings, and it's maker was attempting to use clay to create a differential heat treatment. This could be the case here as the line of pitting clearly is in between the edge and the spine. I can't speak to the cause of this, or to the structural integrity of the steel. FWIW the chef knife I mentioned has held up fine and I use it for breaking down whole chickens.
 
The dark line is an optical illusion from the bevel. Its all the same color steel. I see what your seeing though.
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