Sanmei Steel by the piece!

A

Aldo Bruno

Joined
Jul 30, 2004
Messages
805
I am working with a blacksmith nearby and we've come up with a way to produce SanMei with a stainless skin and just about any core you want! The 1st pieces we've made are from a Hitachi Blue#2 core and 304ss skin. We should be able to put together just about any combination, with any thickness core. What I am wondering is how many of you might be interested in it. The largest pieces we can make are 15" long and 2" wide. We think we may be able to go a little wider(2 1/2").

It's a bit of an investment, but we feel we can but out a consistent high quality blank. Pricing is hard to determine this early in the game and the price will, of course, depend on the material it is made with. Needless to say i wouldn't bother unless everyone involved can make a buck with it.

What we have in mind at this point is:
304/Hitachi Blue
304/52100
304/1095

420/Hitachi Blue
420/52100
420/1095

We believe we can also use CPM steels for cores as well.

We would love to hear from you on this. If you are interested please let us know!

Thank you,
Aldo Bruno
New Jersey Steel Baron
 
arrrgg,, I just had a long post typed out then it was deleted! :mad:

Anyway I thought it was very generous of you to put such an offer out there to us knifemakers, and those combos are mouth watering! :D So you found a blacksmith that helped you figure out how to laminate these different steels? This may be a dumb question, but would you make each 15" billet individually? I always 'imagined' (being the key word here) that places like Hitachi used some high tech way of "fusing" long lengths of their san mai billets together. I'd also be very interested in the type of process you found that works for such different stainless and carbon steels, unless its somewhat of a trade secret and would hinder your sales ;) Is it a process that can be done in a propane forge without the use of a press/power hammer? I am a wannabe bladesmith and I've always had a HUGE soft spot for san mai and have played around with it quite a bit.

Also, what would you say the main differences are between the 304 and 420, at least as a cladding? I think I've read that 304 is a bit (stronger?) due to it being harder to engrave that the normal 416 etc. on fittings. Does that mean the 420 would be better for more impact resistance on harder use blades than 304 would be or..?
Thanks so much for another great offer Aldo!! :)

~Paul
My YT Channel Lsubslimed
 
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Definitely interested. Supply seems to be very limited when I have searched in the past. 1095 and 52100 cores would be great.
 
Thanks Aldo. I am very interested in 420/blue and 420/52100. 420/(W2/D2/3V) would be nice bonuses. Prefer 1/16" thick core.
 
Definitely interested. I am not in a situation where I'm able to set up a forge in my own shop, and am very interested in occasional use of Carbon/Stainless combos.
 
I've asked all kinds of questions and got to see a demo of some of this being made one time. But, I don't have the ability in my shop to make it yet. Sooooo, I'd definitely be interested in it. The 52100 and 1095 would likely be my choices. I'm curious too as to the differences in the two different stainless steels. I've heard when used alone for fittings, they can have different machining ability. Also, I'm assuming these blanks would come fully annealed?

Thanks for being willing to out this out.

Jeremy
 
Aldo - I'm very interested, especially in the 52100 and 1095- versions.

Wonderful offer Aldo.

Thank you!

-Peter
 
304 is more corrosion resistant than 420.
420 is martensitic (hardenable) 304 isn't.
 
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I would be interested as well. Even if you just did a more simple San mai like 1084 and 15n20.

Will it be rolled so the pattern will be flat, or forged so more of a wavy pattern will emerge when ground?
 
I would be interested as well. A Blue core is what would interest me the most. What kind of final thickness would we be getting?
 
I'm a new maker but I'm interested. Whatever combo the more experienced guys think would be best. Thanks!
 
Very, very interested.
420 over blue or w2 would be awesome.
Can you get the thickness down to around 5/32" or so?
 
If you can make the sammiches you mentioned, couldn't you make others as well? How about D2 core with AEB-L cladding?
 
Russ Andrews said:
304 is more corrosion resistant than 420.
420 is martensitic (hardenable) 304 isn't.
Click to expand...

Yes, but if you want to harden the high carbon core at datasheet temperatures, 420 would not reach hardening temperatures by at least 200C on most of the listed steels.

I've been told that 420 sides gives far better and nicer transitions to the core than 304.


Pablo
 
I would be very interested in the 52100/420 and 52100/304 steel in kitchen knife thickness(1/32-1/16" cores) is there any idea how much say a 2"x12" piece would cost(like what is the ball park we are talking about?)

may I ask how you do it?

very interesting!

DANIEL
 
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