Stainless Guard material

303 is the easiest to machine of the 300-series of stainless steels, however, if you're peening pins, 303 pins are a b*tch compared to 416.

I've tried everything across the board, and I've settled on heat treated 416 guards with non-hardened 416 pins.
 
I like 416 when I use stainless. I now often use titanium for bolsters and back bars when wanting a silver finish on my folders. Frank
 
416 and 420 have a more appealing luster, I think. 303 has a bluish tinge to it that I don't like as much.
 
Where is everyone buying 416? I've seen it at 1 knife supplier and it was fairly expensive I thought. Flatgrinder: do you fit your guards and then heat treat or heat treat than fit? If the latter how hard is it to work ht'd 416?
 
416 stainless is 410 with the addition of sulfur.

410 is easy to find and is available in sheet. Most folders made with stainless liners or framelocks are 410.

Chuck
 
jimmyswan said:
Where is everyone buying 416? I've seen it at 1 knife supplier and it was fairly expensive I thought. Flatgrinder: do you fit your guards and then heat treat or heat treat than fit? If the latter how hard is it to work ht'd 416?
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Hey Jimmy, I've tried 416 from many sources, I now go with Admiral Steel's 416 (stay away from Fry Steel .. they sold me multiple bars of cracked 416, and usually you can't see it until it's mirror polished). The bars are heat treated and I machine them after. No problem machining HT'd 416 with carbide tooling. I like carbide and HT'd 416, it cuts cleaner and is less gummy.
 
Jimmy, You fit your guard temporarily and then take it apart , heat treat your blade, clean off the scale and mount your guard again. You can pre shape your guard so after heat treat it will be easy to finish the shaping with your scales attached.
 
I have an endless supply of 304 and 316 through work, I still buy my own 416.
Machines like butter compared to 3 series.
Its magnetic so it can be surface ground easily
Heat treating certainly isnt neccesary either.
 
All of the 300 series is not bad.
The 303 has the added sulfur to make it machinable.
304 and 316 are not designed to be machined.
Yet, the 303 doesn't match up to the magnetic properties of the martensitic 400s.
Hardening the 416 does make it a bit more scratch resistant, so hardening does help a bit.

I just buy 1 1/4" round and forge whatever I need. You just need to move it slowly or the added sulfur will hot short on you and you'll get splits and cracks.
Easy does it.

FTO_dude said:
I have an endless supply of 304 and 316 through work, I still buy my own 416.
Machines like butter compared to 3 series.
Its magnetic so it can be surface ground easily
Heat treating certainly isnt neccesary either.
Click to expand...
 
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