Possible Steel fix by temper?

T

tacticalrescue

Joined
Mar 13, 2016
Messages
47
hello folks,

i have a cheap 7cr13mov knife and it feels beautiful in my hands but the blade is hard to sharpen and doesn't last long at all.....i have been thinking i could temper it much higher or at least make it easier to sharpen or possible a sharper edge?? something along the lines of turning it into a heavy maintenance mild steel with better rust properties?? would this work? from the research ive done.....redoing the heat treatment isnt gunna get me much with this steel....thanks for your time.

best,
Marc
 
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Generally speaking, taking a relatively soft mediocre knife softer will make it a worse knife, not better.
 
How do you sharpen?
if you have hard time sharpening your knife I suggest you to get one diamond plate (eze-lap extra-fine would work) and lower the set edge angle; take it slowly and wet the diamond plate during sharpening.
I guess you will be able to pull out a working edge and be satisfyied...don't try redoing the heat treatment.
 
it may be your sharpening process. If you don't hone the burr off, then when it snaps off during use, your cutting ability will be noticeably worse.
 
kdogmcg said:
it may be your sharpening process. If you don't hone the burr off, then when it snaps off during use, your cutting ability will be noticeably worse.
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definelty aware of the burr, and i am using a lanky system at 30 degrees. just more work than im willing to do in field and it doesnt last very long at all......maybe 10 cuts or so.....it was a cheap chinese thing and id chuck it if it didnt feel so great in the hand. i already remade the knife in O1. but i just didn't know if there was anything i could to this or learn from trying.......
 
If the edge doesn't last more than 10 cuts at the current temper, it is doubtful it will last longer at a lower temper. I would send the knife back to the maker and ask for a replacement.
 
Are you sharpening at 30 degrees per side with your lansky? If so, that is much too steep. Try 20 degrees
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
If the edge doesn't last more than 10 cuts at the current temper, it is doubtful it will last longer at a lower temper. I would send the knife back to the maker and ask for a replacement.
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ive pretty much abandoned any hope of edge retention.....but was hoping that a lower temp (higher oven temperature?) would soften the steel so that i could at least sharpen between dulling easier and faster.....id rather have a Mild steel behavior than this super hard, non lasting stainless one. does a lower temp mean the steel will be more easily workable because its softer?


S.Alexander said:
Are you sharpening at 30 degrees per side with your lansky? If so, that is much too steep. Try 20 degrees
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okie i will try that. thanks. i didnt before because i figured it just make the edge even more susceptible to wearing faster....
 
Is the edge chipping or rolling right now? That seems doubtful with a 60 degree inclusive edge. My guess is that with such an obtuse edge, as soon as it starts to dull even slightly, it becomes too blunt to cut anything efficiently.
 
S.Alexander said:
Is the edge chipping or rolling right now? That seems doubtful with a 60 degree inclusive edge. My guess is that with such an obtuse edge, as soon as it starts to dull even slightly, it becomes too blunt to cut anything efficiently.
Click to expand...

wow thats a great point i overlooked...totally missed this obvious test....it seems to be rolling actually......i thought it would be chipping but im guessing now with it rolling its cause its too soft already? ill take a few rockwell files to it and see if maybe it is worth redoing the HT..... and ill switch to 20 degree aswell.....


thank you everyone for your help.
 
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