S30V help

C

Chaos_Spear

Joined
May 6, 2011
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Hello, first time poster here so my apologies if I've posted in the wrong forum or anything else.

I am a longtime knife enthusiast, and a serious offshore sailor. I am experimenting with grinding my own rigging knives and so far have been pleased with the results. For my next knife, I want to use S30V, as I have been very happy with tools made from it.

These forums have been very helpful, both for testimonials regarding the steel and information about heat-treating. I only have two questions:

1. What's the best way to obtain S30V in relatively small amounts, ideally flat sheets? Something convenient to LA or New England would be best.

2. I gather that heat-treating S30V is trickier than the Crucible data sheet implies. Any specific recommendations that differ from the data sheet's recommended treatment?
 
As a newer maker who loves stainless, let me first discourage your use of S30v. S35VN is newer, and essentially an improved version of S30V. I've made a few knives with S30V and love it. Then I worked with S35VN and am eager to use up the last of my S30V. You will like it better in just about every aspect from working, grinding, finishing, polishing, and even sharpening. I believe that Crucible, or whomever owns the S30V creation now, no longer makes S30V, nor will they likely make a batch again. S35VN is supposed to be that much better. Either way, get it about 99% finished before the HT.

Send it off for HT and specify that you want a cryo treatment. If you have a kiln, then wrap in foil, ½ hour at 1950°, plate quench, cryo in dry ice for 8 hours, temper at 400° twice. Most knife material suppliers should have it.

FWIW: Out of curiosity, I once put a small scrap of S30V in without foil. It came out a little chunk of crusty, black decarb. It was absolutely destroyed. Unbelievably hard, but completely destroyed. It took a lot of grinding at 60 grit to find bare steel. It went in at .063 and came out at .040 after grinding back to bare metal.
 
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