Plasma cutter for cutting knife blanks

T

ToTKnives

Joined
Jan 22, 1999
Messages
287
Do some of y'all use a plasma cutter? I know it would speed up the knife making process, and help with creativity on profiling blade blanks. Is there a neg. effect on using the plasma on air hardening steels? In buying a plasma cutter is there any special features that I should look for, and what would some good brands be? Thanks guys.
Chris, Top of Texas Knives
www.toptexknives.com

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[This message has been edited by ToTKnives (edited 26 August 1999).]
 
In a back issue of Knives Illustrated Elishewitz (sic) had a setup using a plasma cutter with a pantograph arm to cut out parts from a sheet of steel.

I'll dig around for the issue.

Rich
 
My knifemaker freind down the road a ways has a plasma cutter for sale, seems grinding the hardened slag off of ATS-34 was not cost effective. He is getting all his popular model blades water cut now. I wouldnt reccomend one...........

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www.simonichknives.com
 
I agree with everyone above!! I use both a plasma cutter and a friction bandsaw at work. They will wiz right through 1/4" D2 steel...... Then it takes forever to get through the hard layer around where you cut!!!
 
yes that d2 work hardens like a bugga...aside from that.....i just think it is bad practice to heat the steel to a temp where it actually melts...especially where your edge is going to end up...no matter what kind of steel your going to use...the molecules cannot like that...and in the end you will probably be sorry.....i made a bunch of knives from vascowear once and made the mistake of letting them get too hot.. ground them just like i did 440c and ats.. finishing them was like working on a rock... a very hard one....will never use vascowear again....although i have about 18 420v knives in the process and its starting to feel a lot like vascowear......water...thats the way to go......i try to buy barstock that is very close to the finish dimension of the knife i am building so i dont have to grind off too much...then i just cut it to length with a cutoff saw or my dandy cuttoff wheel that i have in my bench grinder and grind them to shape.....those hogger belts work REALLY good for profiling....well i am rambling on.....good nite...

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
is it possible to get a waterjet cutter that is very small, just large enough for knife making. i already have a plasma cutter, works nice, but i'm gonna use air hardening steels now, how do i keep them from hardening.
 
What do you guys think about it for non-air hardening steels like 5160? I`ve been cutting my blanks out with an oxy/acetelene torch,then annealing the whole piece before I start grinding. It seems to work fine,but then I`m no expert. Marcus
 
You can purchase waterjet and laser cutting tables on a small scale for a small shop/garage. I would go with one of these over a plasma or gas table. Look around at your regional machine/fab shops and manufacturers. It's a good place to pick up used equipment. You wuold be surprised how prevalent lasers are becoming. They are even popping up in small mom&pop machine shops who could cut blanks for you at a reasonable cost if thats the route you'd like to go. The quality and tolerances available from these machines is impressive not to mention the quantity that can be cut in a short amount of time. Oh yeah, Messer/MG makes a good plasma table.

 
well, i've had good experences with the plasma cutter. i use 0-1 and the knives are fine, i don't know if it takes away the anneal or not, actually i don't care. it has no effect when using 36grt ceramic belts.
more importantly, what's the cost for a very small waterjet cutter or laser cutter?
 
You got me there. You can get a plasma cheaper, especially if you pick up one used. They are definately more prevelant. Cosumables are cheaper too. If I really wanted something laser cut I would get a plates worth of blanks cut and go from there.

[This message has been edited by V-1 (edited 29 August 1999).]
 
I used to have my blades blanked with a laser, but the cut always had to be cleaned up on the grinder and surface hardeneing with D2 was a big problem. Now I have them all done on a waterjet cutter and the results are great.

I can't imagine it being feasible to buy a waterjet cutter to make a few knives. Unless you're making 50 a week. You need a computer and the knowledge to set up and operate a CAD/CAM environment. Find somebody to digitize your designs into AutoCAD or DXF format - NOT Corel Draw DXF ! - and have your blades cut. Works for me.

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www.wilkins-knives.com


 
I agree with you on the cost. Unless you are cranking out knives the cost doesn't justify a laser or waterjet cutter. Hell, a nice grinder is a hard reach. If you have the cash though it's a nice addition to the shop. If you invest some time to learn to program them from print you can take quotes on the side and make a nice little income that can stretch into something to do in retirement.
 
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