question about steel with 75pts c and low mang

[kevin -the professor]

Hello Everyone,

I am interested in trying to find a steel that can be heat treated with only gas forge and that will allow me to play with getting active hamons.

Aldo is getting a shipment of low manganese 1075, which is really more like "water hardening high-carbon steel" since it may be below the specs for true 1075.

Wouldn't the slightly lower carbon and manganese make this more likely to form good hamons, yet this still being near the optimal point of solubility make heat treating still farly simple?

Is my logic wrong here? I am about to buy a load of something to try and make hamons, but that I can also combine with 15n20 to make pattern welding.

Unless, of course, there is not a good steel to do both with, in which case I will choose for one purpose or the other.

Advice is requested, please. Let me know if you think my logic about the low mang steel with 75 pts carbon is correct or not, and why.

(in fact, isn't that steel technically within the specs for w1 - since it has a huge potential range of carbon)?

thanks,
Kevin

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I believe Aldo has a batch of this working. Perhaps he will chime in with more details. IIRC, his is .75C, .35Mn.

 

[A C Richards]

The 1075 with .035mg should make some killer hamons. It will also work well with 15n20 for pattern welded. Just be aware you are starting with a little less C so high layer counts may reduce carbon content too low. I don't think you will have any problems at all, just be aware of it's limitations.

 

[kevin -the professor]

Thanks guys, yeah, I am planning to get a shipment from Aldo some time very soon.
Good to remind me about decarb even if it is not likely to be an issue.

kc