steel help?

C

clockworkfish

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Dec 1, 2010
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hey so i want to make a stainless folder with a wharncliffe style blade, i plan to be using it to carve foam and cut cardboard with it and use it like an exacto knife. any recommendations for stainless steels that would do well with these kind of task? i was thinking 13c26 but im a little unsure of how to heat treat it.

i have a kiln that will go up to 2000f and no cryo (i would like to try some cryo treatment out though, i just need to figure out a cheap way to go about it.) but i would to be able to heat treat it on my own. i have have parks 50 quenchent but as far as i know that's far to fast for most stainless steels.

so what is the proper method of heat treating/quenching 13c26 (or if there is a better steel for the job what would the specs for that be?) also what would the proper quenching oil be? or do most stainless steels benifit more from plate quenching? lastly how would i go about getting and storing liquid nitrogen for fairly cheap?




Sorry for asking so much, i am fairly new to stainless steels and i feel like they would be far better suited for folding knives than high carbon steels.
 
Jim is correct. Bring your oven to 1950, then put your blade in and let it cycle back to 1940-1950 & soak for 20-30 minutes and plate or oil quench. You can then do a sub-zero quench in dry ice and alcohol. Then temper twice @ 350-400 for 2 hours each time. 13C26 & AEB-L are basically the same and are my favorite Stainless steels. They are easy to sharpen and take a very keen edge.
 
jbblount said:
I would also like to know more about liquid nitrogen.
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From my reading, LN tends to help with the development of eta carbides. In this case, since this is a hypoeutectoid steel, I'd guess that a small amount of Chromium carbides would be formed. I don't know how they compare to ferric carbides in hardness but with the lower percentage of carbon I'd guess that cryogenic treatment would cost more it time and effort than it is worth. I hope those with better understanding of this area chime in to correct me if I am wrong.
 
It is pretty easy to treat with dry ice - they carry it at smart and final in my neighborhood - and only takes a few minutes. It's much less work than LN treatment.

That said, I hope to go to LN soon.
 
Also, not sure what thickness you are getting. Aldo Bruno has S35VN in .060, which is the thickness I want for folders.
 
Bo T said:
From my reading, LN tends to help with the development of eta carbides. In this case, since this is a hypoeutectoid steel, I'd guess that a small amount of Chromium carbides would be formed. I don't know how they compare to ferric carbides in hardness but with the lower percentage of carbon I'd guess that cryogenic treatment would cost more it time and effort than it is worth. I hope those with better understanding of this area chime in to correct me if I am wrong.
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I have been able to gain 3 points of rockwell C hardness using LN for AEB-L/13c26, so I guess that if you are satisfied with the steel being 58-59 than it is more trouble than its worth. But I have been making kitchen knives and that is a bit low for my taste.
Del

It also depends on how many blades you are doing. My last batch was 30 knives and I bought 20 litres at a cost of $50 and I had some left over. $50 for one or two blades would be excessive.
 
delbert ealy said:
I have been able to gain 3 points of rockwell C hardness using LN for AEB-L/13c26, so I guess that if you are satisfied with the steel being 58-59 than it is more trouble than its worth. But I have been making kitchen knives and that is a bit low for my taste.
Del

It also depends on how many blades you are doing. My last batch was 30 knives and I bought 20 litres at a cost of $50 and I had some left over. $50 for one or two blades would be excessive.
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For me, 3 points would definitely be worth it. Is that 3 points with cryogenic versus sub-zero, or 3 points versus no cold treatment?
 
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