Random Thought Thread

A W2 mono steel katana with a hard edge and soft spine might be a wicked cutter and also resist breaking in half, but it's going to bend and take a set the first wonky hit.

A good modern steel would stand a pretty good chance of cutting it in half
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
Would not be my first choice for a sword steel unless it's incorporated into a complex section. But a completely W2 Katana is not going to be a very good sword.
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I’d really like to hear what the downsides are, and what your preference would be, specifically for a steel intended for a functional work of art (i.e. a katana with a hamon, that will probably never be used to cut anything except maybe rolled tatami).

All this metallurgical stuff is fascinating, to me.
 
bluemax_1 said:
I’d really like to hear what the downsides are, and what your preference would be, specifically for a steel intended for a functional work of art (i.e. a katana with a hamon, that will probably never be used to cut anything except maybe rolled tatami).

All this metallurgical stuff is fascinating, to me.
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I doubt that I could tell you anything that you don't already know. You're one of the more knowledgeable people here.

So at the risk of pointing out something that I suspect you're already aware of, W-2 can be hard and strong, or it can be soft and tough. But it can't be both of those things simultaneously, which necessitates a hard strong edge, and a soft tough spine created using a differential heat treat, frequently performed with clay.

That soft tough spine is weak

That hard strong edge is brittle

It does not have a good combination of qualities that make it good for a sword, except it is similar to the simple steels that were available to the Japanese Smith's when making historical pieces.

Having worked with Dan Keffeler and having made some world class modern swords myself, I have an appreciation for the modern steels and heat treats that are available to us today that render the simple steel obsolete and suboptimal by modern standards

I can appreciate their excellence, but very few of them would come close to performing very well by modern standards
 
Nathan, I was meant to ask you about 80CrV2 which a lot of Mastersmiths seem to be quite keen on. However, if you feel that your take may devalue one's collection even further, I would appreciate a nonresponse; I reckon that I'm down about 75% after this morning's lessons ;)
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
it usually comes with a laminer anneal rather than sphereoidized.
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This used to be the case, but the current most popular provider for knifemakers provides it in a condition that’s so coarsely spheroidized that it won’t harden properly without ridiculous thermal cycling processes. Same holds true for nearly all this vendor’s carbon steels, and because they’re sold to people with no real idea of what they’re doing beyond getting it hot and quinching it (purposeful spelling), the market is rife with third rate knives with poor heat treat. That includes W2, for which they’re currently the only provider I’m aware of.


Caveat emptor.
 
Casinostocks said:
Nathan, I was meant to ask you about 80CrV2 which a lot of Mastersmiths seem to be quite keen on. However, if you feel that your take may devalue one's collection even further, I would appreciate a nonresponse; I reckon that I'm down about 75% after this morning's lessons ;)
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Ah

Yes

It's very nice
 
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