stainless steel blade advice

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hobden2

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Sep 8, 2014
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Hello all, first time poster/knife maker. Have a few questions regarding stainless treatments.

The blade I am working on I just from some scrap stainless steel angle iron laying around our welding shop. I'm not sure the grade but I would suspect mid to low. I have polished this little skinning knife down to a near mirror finish by hand and have a piece of 30+year dried apple wood with a nice little grain.

Anyway-


How do I go about finishing the blade now? I want to harden /temper it? So it holds an edge? Or is it necessary for stainless steel? Any info?

Thanks
 
If it is angle, I suspect it's a 304/316 series or MAYBE a low 4xx series, and will at best get no harder than a mid 40's rockwell.

IOW, it won't hold an edge very well at all no matter how you heat treat it.

Get some AEB-L from Aldo. Cheap, very stainless, and holds a fantastic edge.
 
Welcome to Shop Talk. Filling out your profile is a good idea.

All knife steel needs to be hardened and tempered. "Mystery steel" found laying about a shop is not likely to be knife steel. It is a very good chance that the knife you are making won't get hard or hold an edge. One should always work from a known steel. AEB-L, CPM-154, and CPM-S35VN are all good stainless knife steels.
 
Thanks folks. Well as far as I can tell its unpolished 316L 3/16" x2x2 angle. Everything I'm reading online in terms of hardness is excess of 75 for rockwell.. I'm confused can some one elaborate?
 
I'm going to throw a guess that you are seeing numbers for Rockwell "B", not Rockwell "C".
 
I was pretty positive it was 316 when you said it was angle. As said by the others, it isn't hardenable.

Compare Rockwell B to C in the same way you compare "hard" rubber to "hard" steel. Both are called HARD, but one is hundreds of times softer.
 
hobden2 said:
Hello all, first time poster/knife maker. Have a few questions regarding stainless treatments.

How do I go about finishing the blade now? I want to harden /temper it? So it holds an edge? Or is it necessary for stainless steel? Any info?

Thanks
Click to expand...

If you have the blade to the finish you are happy with, the only thing left is to finish the handle. In the future, a blade is (ground, hardened and then finished) or (hardened, ground and then finished). In that order. Anything close to a mirror finish will be lost upon heat treating, so finishing is done afterwards.

Hope this helps
 
hobden
Welcome to Shop Talk. Our answers may be short but don't take them wrong. Though the knife you made won't harden you have made a blade.It's good practice and you have that much learning under your hat. Be proud of that and figure you have a darn nice letter opener. Please post a picture of your blade and let us help you get better.

Stan
 
I made close to the same mistake 416 stainless with the first actual knife I made.don't let it get you down. Pick up a peice of known steel if you want pm me I can send you a peice of 5160
 
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