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Steel charts app!
- Thread starter 9blades
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- Dec 1, 2012
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- 840
I got it from Cutlerylover on youtube. It is great, has every steel you could ever imagine thats ever been used for something that cuts something else, and like the name suggests tells you the make up of that steel and has notes on the steel too. It tells you how much carbon is in it or molybdenum or vanadium or silicon or what have you.
David Martin
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A chart is good to have as a reference but I wouldn't put much stock in steel elements alone. As good heat treating can bring out the best in a mediocre steel helping it to really perform. Were as poor heat treating can down grade the best looking steels to giving medicore performance... So, more to it than elements. DM
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- Dec 29, 2012
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I agree completely. to be honest I like the (8cr13mov) on my kershaw volt 2 better than my native (s30v). I more posted this for people that are Curious about steel Composition.
David Martin
Moderator
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- 19,520
Thanks. Back in the late 90's I was really into steels and their elements. Thinking this steel was more superior than that one, based on elements alone. Now, 15yrs. later I've come to realize other factors are more important and charts alone cannot tell you how easy this one sharpens or how nice that one cuts. A chart is more like a starting point of pedigree with a name, allowing us to identify it. Informed knife owners want many different things in a knife purchase. i.e. a good stainless, fine grain, edge retention, ect.. That it becomes a game of 'Musical Chairs' to please buyers with a dose of in vogue marketing trends thrown in. Hence a data processor overload and who can sling out the most names. Still, with no real experience with many of the steels. Even so, a chart is still, of value as a starting point and should be found in most knife enthusiast desk drawer. :thumbup: DM
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2009
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- 13,440
When you pay attention to how a steel sharpens up (how easily, and on which abrasives, and if burrs/wires are a factor), versus what you see in the elemental composition, after a while you'll begin to notice patterns of behavior in (apparent) association with the steel's chemistry. Assuming a decent heat treat (reputable makers, in other words), it becomes easier to get a feel for how a steel might behave, based on the chemistry.
I've seen some value in looking at the elemental composition, especially in regard to more abrasion-resistant steels. When carbon gets very far above 1%, and vanadium above maybe 2% or so, it's not hard to understand why some of them don't sharpen up easily on simpler abrasives. I didn't start really paying attention, until AFTER I'd spent a lot of time attempting to re-bevel steels like S30V and D2. It didn't take long to begin to understand why these steels seemed so much more difficult, once I started paying attention to the ingredients contributing to the carbides in these steels.
Similarly, a low/mid-grade stainless steel like 420HC has a relatively low percentage of carbon (0.5%, give or take), and usually little/no vanadium, leaving the chromium content to primarily influence carbide content. After seeing how these steels tend to be ductile at mid-to-high 50s RC (wire edges that don't break off as easily, but bend/fold instead), similar behavior can also be seen in other steels with similar composition. Burrs/wires are almost a given, but it doesn't take too much effort to gently abrade them away. Throw in some molybdenum at 1% or higher (which adds toughness at higher RC), and I also see a similar pattern among steels like ATS-34 and VG-10, which are still very ductle, but often at somewhat higher hardness (high 50s to 60+ RC). This means (to me) the burrs/wires on them still tend to be very 'bendy' & stubborn, but even stiffer and harder to clean up.
At the simpler end of the scale, basic carbon steel with ~1% or more carbon (like 1095 or Case's CV), and very little or none of the other carbide-makers like chromium or vanadium (usually less than 1% each), are usually very easy to sharpen up, because their abrasion-resistance is very low (which means simpler abrasives can be used to sharpen them). But, they still hold their edge well (edge doesn't deform/bend as easily), due to the higher carbon content. Burrs/wires are usually very easy to clean up, due in part to the minimum or lack of chromium.
Keep looking at the charts, and keep sharpening a variety of steels on a variety of abrasives. After a while, if you're paying attention, you'll start noticing patterns.
David
I've seen some value in looking at the elemental composition, especially in regard to more abrasion-resistant steels. When carbon gets very far above 1%, and vanadium above maybe 2% or so, it's not hard to understand why some of them don't sharpen up easily on simpler abrasives. I didn't start really paying attention, until AFTER I'd spent a lot of time attempting to re-bevel steels like S30V and D2. It didn't take long to begin to understand why these steels seemed so much more difficult, once I started paying attention to the ingredients contributing to the carbides in these steels.
Similarly, a low/mid-grade stainless steel like 420HC has a relatively low percentage of carbon (0.5%, give or take), and usually little/no vanadium, leaving the chromium content to primarily influence carbide content. After seeing how these steels tend to be ductile at mid-to-high 50s RC (wire edges that don't break off as easily, but bend/fold instead), similar behavior can also be seen in other steels with similar composition. Burrs/wires are almost a given, but it doesn't take too much effort to gently abrade them away. Throw in some molybdenum at 1% or higher (which adds toughness at higher RC), and I also see a similar pattern among steels like ATS-34 and VG-10, which are still very ductle, but often at somewhat higher hardness (high 50s to 60+ RC). This means (to me) the burrs/wires on them still tend to be very 'bendy' & stubborn, but even stiffer and harder to clean up.
At the simpler end of the scale, basic carbon steel with ~1% or more carbon (like 1095 or Case's CV), and very little or none of the other carbide-makers like chromium or vanadium (usually less than 1% each), are usually very easy to sharpen up, because their abrasion-resistance is very low (which means simpler abrasives can be used to sharpen them). But, they still hold their edge well (edge doesn't deform/bend as easily), due to the higher carbon content. Burrs/wires are usually very easy to clean up, due in part to the minimum or lack of chromium.
Keep looking at the charts, and keep sharpening a variety of steels on a variety of abrasives. After a while, if you're paying attention, you'll start noticing patterns.
David