Steel help. Anyone know what "Tantung" steel is?

the only place i have ever seen tantung used is on shaper knives and larger router bits in place of carbide....its not nearly as hard but takes a nicer edge...i dont know anything about it really....just seen it once or twice.....go to search in the woodworking industry and try to find some info....i would be curious.....
 
Boy! I really need to catch up on my steels. If I would have read that I would have thought it was a type o and thought it to mean tungsten.
 
Now that I had some idea of where to look, I found some infor on this stuff. Lots of info actually. I may be off base here but it looks like this is a cobalt based metal, possibly like Talonite except a much higher RC. Here is the blurb off of one web site:

www.vrwesson.com/pg4.htm

Tantung is a cast alloy cutting tool material composed principally of chromium, tungsten, columbium, and carbon in a cobalt matrix. These elements combined in the proper proportions and cast in chill molds give Tantung its most important characteristic -- the ability to retain its cutting hardness at temperatures of up to 1500°F. It is neither high speed steel nor carbide. It is unique.
Tantung has a high transverse rupture strength, low coefficient of friction and excellent resistance to corrosion. It is tough, readily absorbs shock and impact, and is non-magnetic...it likes to work.
As a cutting tool, it is ideal for all turning, facing, boring, milling , and cut-off applications on nearly every type of metal as well as non-metallics. Tantung performs best at speeds of 100-250 SFPM and can be used to excellent advantage on machines where speed, power, and rigidity are limited. In addition, it will not anneal or lose its cutting edge as will H.S.S. when subjected to high-red heats generated during the cutting cycle.
Tantung G is recommended for general purpose machining of both ferrous and non-ferrous metal and general woodworking operations. For catalog items, Tantung G Hardness is 60 to 63 Rockwell C and Transverse Rupture Strength is 300,000 psi minimum.

Would this stuff make a good knife or what? Anyone care to comment. It sounds like it would to me, but I am not a materials engineer I just play one on showtime
smile.gif


Sam.
 
WHOOOWEE!! Wack that dog on the ass and get it moving!! Man this sounds like great stuff. Non magnetic, 60/63 RC ie:HARD, Mission knives do you see this? Is it corrosion resistant?
 
Well this sounds good .
when I looked at their web site I saw that the addy for them is a 20min drive from my shop. ILL call on tuseday and see if I can drop by for a sample
ED
 
Ed, Too Cool....

Please let us know what you find out. I am looking forward to hearing what it is like.

Sam.
 
one comment...this stuff is not new...its been around in the wood working industry for some time....but i seldom run into it...dont know why....
 
Talonite has been around since the 20's and has even been used in knives before. Its just now that there appears to be a market for these types of metals. Just a thought.

Sam.
 
Guys: Won't this stuff be fun to grind!
Ed, If they have samples, please remember your old buddy, your old pal (me!)

RJ Martin
 
A few years ago I bought a small piece of Tantung as a cuttoff tool for my metal lathe. I thought this would be neat to try in a small knife, or a folder. I bought the piece from MSC an it was 1/8 X 7/8 X 6". It was way tougher to grind than Talonite, and did not pass a flex test, as I remember it is much more brittle compared to Talonite. It probably will however hold an edge longer, I broke the piece and never got to find out! It is also more expensive than Talonite. I have a big piece of what is called Jonalloy, which I believe is the same thing as Tantung sitting in my shop but havent had the time to play with it yet..............

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www.simonichknives.com
 
Hi.

I may be able to help on this one.
I am a medically retired machinist and this was one of my favorite cutting tools.
Tantung at one time was kind of a in between tool steel and carbide. I used it in the machine shop for years. It makes good tangential cutting tools,but not as good for form tools. Although it is very hard it is softer towards the center being cast.When used for form tools and sharpening off the top it started becoming softer to the point it wouldn't cut very long in tougher to machine steels like 1018.
My old boss who had a great deal of knowledge always said it would be to brittle. If I could have ever found a piece of 1/8th or 3/16th X 3/4 or 1"
8 inches or longer I woul have ground one up. It is tough to grind and takes a well dressed wheel,of course I guess most people use belts mostly now.
smile.gif


>>>>---Yvsa---->
 
My Tantung observations.
I went to see the Tantung guys got some literature and a small sample 1/8x1/2x6".
The specs say it is 60-63RC and tougher than carbide.
It is a cast material and then ground to shape for metal cutting tools.
I took the sample piece and ground a small blade on the end 1" long.
tried it on some T6 aluminum, the edge chipped badly.
just tried a drop into wood test (8ft into the floor) and the first 1/16 of the point stayed in the floor.
It does cut leather well and would make a fairly good shop knife blade but as for general knife use I think it is way too brittle.


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Edward Randall Schott
Knifemaker
www.angelfire.com/ct/schottknives/index.html



[This message has been edited by Edward R Schott (edited 05 June 1999).]
 
from what yvsa says...sounds like its a bad idea to grind it as it gets softer as you get farther from the tough skin...of course anything is tougher than carbide...it is very much like glass...fairly hard but breaks VERY easy..i know..ive dropped more than one carbide blade onto the cement floor in my shop...oooopppps....this stuff was designed to be a wood and metal cutting tool, much like carbide....and although i have a welder friend who has a carbide tipped knife.....its not for everybody..thats for sure......(hes a welder for a very large company and i think he probably got the materials for his knife free of charge)
 
Hey all
As far as the grinding thing that's how they work it they cast a billet and grind it to shape.
also they make big lathe bits(1"x1"x8") with a 1/4"radius tip like you would use on a 4x28ft lathe.
 
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