Precision ground steel stock

kauai Marc

kauai Marc

Joined
Oct 3, 2006
Messages
1,183
Hello all,

As i am getting ready to order some flat stock steel,i am wondering if
i should get precision ground?is is worth the extra $ ?Does it saves you time and steps in the work? I will be using stock removal.
Also i wanted to get either 3/16 or 1/4 " stock,as i am a newbie i wanted to ask you guys which you think i should get,will the 1/4 be more forgiving? I will try to do both hollow grinds and flat grinds
Any advice will be greatly appreciated,thanks
Marc
 
What are you going to be grinding with, If your gonna do it with files i'd get 1/8". If you have a grinder 3/16" is ok. I don't buy PG Stock never have, So I really can't tell you if its worth it.Heck your gonna grind half of it away and most bar stock is pretty close to size and flat. If your making folders that a whole nother deal
Hope this helps
Stan
 
I'm a noob and I really don't see the need for it at this point (just my 02). I am using the stock removal method so far.
 
Yes, PG steel does save time and steps in work. I am a part-timer but it is a large contribution to my income. Personaly I can justify the extra cost. For the new maker, it is much less discouraging because you will save money on belts and you want waste time grinding bark off of steel. Also starting with a good flat piece of steel, makes it easier to stay flat all the way to the oven where it really matters. Also makes it easier to order pre-slotted guards and such. I mill my own, but not everyone has that luxury. Just shop around and get the best price. Aldo on this site has good prices, also flatground.com Have Fun!
 
If I had to pick , I would go with Blanchard ground. It has the scale ground off, but isn't locked in to an exact ten thousandth of an inch tolerance. Most stock removal jobs will remove virtually all the surface anyway, so what are you paying for?
Stacy
 
Blanchard Ground for me,,, like,,,Stacey said,, for .250 you will have like .270 thick,, if it doesnt matter the thickness,, The grind marks come out easy,,
 
bladsmth said:
If I had to pick , I would go with Blanchard ground. It has the scale ground off, but isn't locked in to an exact ten thousandth of an inch tolerance. Most stock removal jobs will remove virtually all the surface anyway, so what are you paying for?
Stacy
Click to expand...

Who sells steel ground in this way Stacy?
 
Thank you all for your input,i am only going to make a small order,most likely of 2 or3
3" bars or the equilavent.I am also curious about the availibility of Blanchard ground
steel,i have not seen it on the steel website co. i looked at.
Abot the thickness of stock,any of you have suggestions?
Thanks again,
Marc
 
bladsmth said:
If I had to pick , I would go with Blanchard ground. It has the scale ground off, but isn't locked in to an exact ten thousandth of an inch tolerance. Most stock removal jobs will remove virtually all the surface anyway, so what are you paying for?
Stacy
Click to expand...

Stacy, I agree you don't have to have the thickness tolerance. But, I have ordered blanchard ground in 36" lengths that looked like a recurve bow.Most PG stock is guaranteed not only in thickness but also +/- .010 in flatness over 36". You cant promise that with a blanchard grinder ( on knife thickness material ) I know this from spending many hours on a blanchard.:( What your paying for is a higher quality piece of steel. Even if you grind the bow out it's highly possible it will show up again in heat treat. Im speaking from personal experiance with A-2 and D-2.
 
I guess for a guy with a craftsman 2x42 and a drill press making knives like myself, presicion ground could be a big help. I have started with ats34 and am working with A2 and I think A2 is easier to work with. I may be wrong.
 
Horton_Knives said:
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you mean most people dont work in .300 to .415.. lol... we should meet up homie,,.. not too far apart,,,
Click to expand...

Dude I thought I was the lone maker in this area. I think it's collabaration time. By the way, I used to buy all my guns over at shooters.
 
Okay, my .02. I buy all PG stock because I think it saves me a lot of time, belts and heartache. I use flatground.com, order usually arrives the day after I place it. I normally use 3/16" stock, but for hunting type knives I think 1/8" makes more sense. Good luck!
 
Yes, I see where you are coming from.
I forge a lot of my blades, and the curvature and thickness tolerances are not critical. Also, even on blades that I grind, I spherodize the metal and flatten it as needed, and always relieve the stress before HT. I consider the HT of the blade starts when I cut off a piece of bar stock. Annealing, normalization, stress relief, and the final hardening and tempering are all steps along the same path. Take a short cut by skipping some steps, and you may well encounter problems later on at quench time. Cycle annealing ( sub-critical anneal) is the easiest and best way to avoid many problems.

Many of the knife suppliers used to sell the steel Blanchard ground, or PG. Forgers used Blanchard, and grinders used PG. For things like thin fillet knives and folders, PG is the way to go.
Stacy
 
One other thing to consider is that precision ground does not mean the flats are finished
to our standards. It has very precise, flat sides covered with very precise about 60 grit
scratches. You're going to have to sand all of that down anyway, so you don't gain as
much as you might expect. At least I didn't.

That's one of the reasons I ordered my first stainless (13C26) from Admiral. It was
somewhat curved, which is a pain but it cost less per foot than PG A2 and the fine
mill bark is no more difficult to remove than the PG scratches, at least in my shop.

Of course I have yet to finish a stainless knife. Something always comes up. I had
four blades in the works, three of them pretty successful. Then I won that forge...
I'll get back to those SS blades one of these months.
 
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