Should I use 440c ?

C

Corey.L

Joined
Jun 9, 2020
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ok so I’ve decided that I want to try my hand at making knives and so I went online to buy some steels and I’m gonna get some 80crv2 and n690 but I’m a little way off of the minimum order price so I’m wondering whether or not to pay like 10 dollars for a small piece of 440c (.088 thick, 11.6 inches long and 1.5 inches wide) band I figured it would serve as a good experiment for me and would be a lot better for a test run than a nicer steel . I was just wondering if I should instead get a bigger piece of 80crv2 instead? Thoughts?
 
Btw I’m gonna order in the new year so i have a ton of time to decide before then
 
I've been working with A2 and I really like it, not stainless at all but it's easy to work with
 
Corey.L said:
ok so I’ve decided that I want to try my hand at making knives and so I went online to buy some steels and I’m gonna get some 80crv2 and n690 but I’m a little way off of the minimum order price so I’m wondering whether or not to pay like 10 dollars for a small piece of 440c (.088 thick, 11.6 inches long and 1.5 inches wide) band I figured it would serve as a good experiment for me and would be a lot better for a test run than a nicer steel . I was just wondering if I should instead get a bigger piece of 80crv2 instead? Thoughts?
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I would stay away from fancy stuff to start. Try 1080 8670 most of the high carbon steels work well and are easy to heat treat. Stainless takes some high temps. 80crv 2 is a good steel has vanadium and chrome so it is a little better than the 10 series steels. See what your local supplies have as freight will kill ya.
Take care
Good luck. TJ Smith
 
The VERY first thing to decide BEFORE ordering any steel is how do you plan to HT? Forge? Temperature controlled oven? Send it out for professional HT? If one of the last two then any steel you wish to try is just fine. If you're HT'ing in a forge, then you might wish to stay with simpler 10XX alloys. Especially until you get a good bit of experience HT'ing.
 
With a good heat treatment, 440C is a great knife steel, especially for the price. I would recommend sending it out for heat treatment when you get started though.
 
Ken H> said:
The VERY first thing to decide BEFORE ordering any steel is how do you plan to HT? Forge? Temperature controlled oven? Send it out for professional HT? If one of the last two then any steel you wish to try is just fine. If you're HT'ing in a forge, then you might wish to stay with simpler 10XX alloys. Especially until you get a good bit of experience HT'ing.
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ah ok, i was just planning to use a homemade forge and hammer ( and then some files, a small engraving tool and some whetstones) so ill stick to the easier stuff then ty
 
SBuzek said:
If you are planning on outsourcing heat treat then any of the above are fine.
440C properly heat treated make a very good knife.
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ok thanks, i wasn't planning on outsourcing as i live in the uk there aren't many places near here so ig i won't go with 440c, thank you very much for your time to respond
 
Corey.L said:
oki, let me re phrase then, if you were in my place, what option would you gravitate to more?
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sorry to be slippery, but at this stage in the game I don't think it would matter. Just make a knife from something hardenable and then do it again and again until you can figure out for yourself what you like.
Just remember that a properly heat treated knife, regardless of steel type, will outperform a poorly heat treated knife made from the most expensive and advanced steel
 
Corey.L said:
ah ok, i was just planning to use a homemade forge and hammer ( and then some files, a small engraving tool and some whetstones) so ill stick to the easier stuff then ty
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that's how i started out. if i was doing it again i would try to get 1070 or 1080 ish steels. you may have to look up equivalent European grades, i don't know what they stock in the UK.
if you can't get those 5160, 80crv2 or o1 might be worth trying. avoid stainless or anything really fancy

just remember that ergonomics and blade design are as important as steel,
 
Alex Topfer said:
that's how i started out. if i was doing it again i would try to get 1070 or 1080 ish steels. you may have to look up equivalent European grades, i don't know what they stock in the UK.
if you can't get those 5160, 80crv2 or o1 might be worth trying. avoid stainless or anything really fancy

just remember that ergonomics and blade design are as important as steel,
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yeah idk about blade geometry with my current tools but i do a crap ton of woodworking so at least it will have good egos even if it doest cut :)
 
do some research and you might surprise yourself. remember to distal taper and err on the side of thinner
 
Even 80crv2 really wants an oven for heat treat. Really wants a 5 minute soak.


Stick to simple carbon steels for your first knives. 1075, 1080, 1084. All can make a good knife heat treated with simple forge equipment. All are cheap and easy to work
 
OK, I will give you my advise based on you being a new maker and planning on doing your own HT.

1) You will have to use a simple carbon steel. 1080 is the best choice. 5160, 1075, 1084, and 26C3 are all suitable, too. Get only one type steel. You need to make a good number of knives with that steel to learn the process.

2) You really should start with stock removal. Saw, file, grind the knife and do the HT. Finish up with lots of sanding using silicon carbide sandpaper.

3) Start simple. Don't try big or fancy knives until you have all the skills and HT down pat. Do one knife at a time. It is really silly to make the same mistake on four knives while learning. Each individual knife will be an improvement on the last one.

4) Start with a drawing of the knife and post it here in Shop Talk. Also tell us how you plan to make the knife (tools, methods, order of work, etc.). The folks here will help you fine tune the plans and drawings to get you a better start.

There are HT services available in London and other places in the UK, check them out, as HT is the most important step in making a knife. All high alloy and stainless steels need a proper HT done in an oven, often with a cryo treatment.
 
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