Steel issues

S

sharp69

Joined
Jul 18, 2013
Messages
19
OK, so I bought a sheet of 1/64" stainless to make a kitchen frosting spatula. It's somewhat ductile, and cuts fairly easily with aviation snips. The bad news is, it curls like a @#<;$&*?! I'm cooling completely in cold water after every pass, grinding with very light pressure, working in a circular pattern, it doesn't matter. Yes, I can lay the blank on a belt sander when I'm done. I'm doing all the work with the same side up for that reason. But am I missing any trick or technique that will minimize the curling further? I literally can not work it any lighter or faster. The pattern is like a large tapered cotton ear swab, so shearing right to size would be pretty difficult. I plan to serrate a couple inches of one edge. It's hard to pry the one I used as a model from the cook's grip, but I'd bet any amount that one was stamped. I question if this sheet was tempered, it has minimal memory. So I'm planning to temper it.
 
Hi Sharp69,

What type of steel have you got? If it's not a cutlery-grade stainless then you won't be able to heat treat it, no matter what kind of equipment you have. Some photos of what you're making and what the problem is would help &#8212; I'm having trouble picturing it from your description. Is the curling happening when you're using your tin snips or when you're grinding?

- Chris
 
1/64" is only .015 which is, in my opinion, too thin. Even if it is blade steel it will be too flexible to spread cake icing. I suggest 1/16" stock at a minimum. If you're just gonna spread frosting then 1/16" 410 stainless will work fine and heat treating isn't necessary. Just profile it and put a handle on it and you should be good to go.
 
Got the sheet at a hardware store. Don't know if it's cutlery grade or ... There were markings on the label on the plastic wrapper it came in, but nothing like 440A. Hopefully the wrapper wasn't put in the trash by someone else. If it isn't in a landfill, I'll post what it said. Any rules of thumb to find out on my own if it is cutlery grade? The metal bends when using the snips, and doesn't spring back, but has slight spring if subjected to minimal stress. So I have to straighten it after cutting a rough blank. My first post refers to how I'm grinding. The original, which is tempered, is fairly flexible. You can't split bone with it, but it's frosted many cakes, and is often used to cut and remove bar cookies, kind of like using a pie server. I've done both with it myself repeatedly.
 
If you bought it in a hardware store it's almost certainly not cutlery grade. Even if it were, do you have the means to heat treat it? Darrin Sanders' advice is good and probably your best bet.

- Chris
 
Yes. You need a very accurate heat treat oven and you need to follow a very careful procedure to do even a halfway decent job at heat treating stainless steel. You also need either a controlled atmosphere in your oven or stainless steel foil, and quench plates to avoid steel that thin from warping severely.

- Chris
 
I'm trying this project as much to learn how to do the process, as to get a finished product. Is a piece of an old carbon crosscut saw blade a decent alternative to the steel I already cut out? The original tool works for removing bar cookies because it's flexible. It's, basically, a thin stainless leaf spring with a handle. Does anyone have a link to a good thread on heat treating stainless? I saw another of these spatulas at a moving sale recently with a $2.00 sticker. If I have to spend serious scratch to get first class steel by mail to make one, I'll use this steel to try and make something else. Thank you for all the advice.
 
Steel is the cheapest part of a knife. Alpha Knife Supply will sell you blade sized pieces of steel for just a few bucks. There is also a ton of information in the blade steel section of their site. Just click on the item number of a piece of steel and it will tell you most of what you need to know about that particular grade of steel.
 
darrin sanders,

I didn't see 410 in the AKS blade material section, but it looks like a good reference for the steels they offer. Does 410 as it's typically sold offer good flexibility? Or would that be a better question for the seller?
 
sharp69 said:
darrin sanders,

I didn't see 410 in the AKS blade material section, but it looks like a good reference for the steels they offer. Does 410 as it's typically sold offer good flexibility? Or would that be a better question for the seller?
Click to expand...
you will find 410 with other "decorative metal" like brass. the only folks that use 410 for blades are Cutco. I make kitchen utensils from 304/316 stainless. it has the stain resistance and can be made stiff or flexible by how you shape it.
scott
 
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