-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is available! Price is $250 ea (shipped within CONUS).
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/
Steel Testing Companies/Labs
- Thread starter TexnnSc
- Start date
Busto
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2011
- Messages
- 4,234
You do realize that these testing labs are quite expensive and will give you an in depth analysis of what may turn out to be just cheap steel. They focus on testing for Aerospace and Military contract materials. I work for an agency where in house testing is done and I will tell you we get certified materials for man rated space flight and we have to carry out our own testing to verify those Certs and the price is ridiculous in the THOUSANDS of Dollars!!!! So you can google Material testing labs and call a few places to get an idea of what you are up against dollar wise. Might be cheaper to order Known Steel to replace what you have....
Mike
Mike
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2009
- Messages
- 21,855
https://www.fastenal.com/en/13/a2la-accredited-calibration-and-lab-testing
Spectrometer - Chemical analysis for iron, nickel, aluminum, copper, and titanium based materials
Spectrometer - Chemical analysis for iron, nickel, aluminum, copper, and titanium based materials
A, basically, unlimited supply of "high carbon" steel. A buddy buys 4/year for his tractor and brings the sheds to me. I do use known steel as well, with a good supply of 1095, 01 and 5160 stacked up. Have successfully heat treated several "test" blades and made some really nice knives with it. According to the manufacturer: "Made from high-carbon, nickel-alloy steel
- Same steel used for automotive leaf springs.
- Extremely hard and resistant to wear and breakage
Made of high-carbon steel
John Deere mower blades are made of abrasion-resistant, high-carbon, nickel-alloy steel. This steel (commonly used for automotive leaf springs) has the hardness to be extremely resistant to wear and breakage. Unlike the lower-carbon blades used by many manufacturers, John Deere blades will withstand sand, stones, or other hard objects with little cracking or chipping. The result is a better cutting job and longer blade life.
Precision manufacturing process
In providing a quality blade, the attention given to the manufacturing process is as important as using high-quality material. John Deere mower blades are precision manufactured. The process includes:
· The blades are precision milled at each end for a smooth, sharp cutting surface.
· They are then induction heated to 1600°F. This gives them a consistent hardness.
· Next they are plastic quenched. This process of dipping and cooling the blade in a special solution ensures that the hardness attained during heat treating is not lost.
· The next process is to draw and temper the blades in an oven to reduce brittleness and increase toughness. This further decreases the chance of the blade edges cracking or chipping.
· All John Deere blades have a Rockwell Hardness of 40-C to 45-C. Hardness below 40-C results in a surface that is too soft. Hardness over 45-C makes the blade too brittle."
- Same steel used for automotive leaf springs.
- Extremely hard and resistant to wear and breakage
Made of high-carbon steel
John Deere mower blades are made of abrasion-resistant, high-carbon, nickel-alloy steel. This steel (commonly used for automotive leaf springs) has the hardness to be extremely resistant to wear and breakage. Unlike the lower-carbon blades used by many manufacturers, John Deere blades will withstand sand, stones, or other hard objects with little cracking or chipping. The result is a better cutting job and longer blade life.
Precision manufacturing process
In providing a quality blade, the attention given to the manufacturing process is as important as using high-quality material. John Deere mower blades are precision manufactured. The process includes:
· The blades are precision milled at each end for a smooth, sharp cutting surface.
· They are then induction heated to 1600°F. This gives them a consistent hardness.
· Next they are plastic quenched. This process of dipping and cooling the blade in a special solution ensures that the hardness attained during heat treating is not lost.
· The next process is to draw and temper the blades in an oven to reduce brittleness and increase toughness. This further decreases the chance of the blade edges cracking or chipping.
· All John Deere blades have a Rockwell Hardness of 40-C to 45-C. Hardness below 40-C results in a surface that is too soft. Hardness over 45-C makes the blade too brittle."
Busto
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2011
- Messages
- 4,234
For the most part the automotive industry uses 5160 or 9260 for leaf springs however there was a time when some 1095 was being used. So for a test why not do a Heat Treat test on some coupons of that steel and see if it measures up to the 5160 you have used might just be the same stuff. If the information you provided above is from JD and they are telling you its the same as Auto Springs you might be good to go with out Scientific testing.
I heat treated a sample to the same specs as 5160 and got pretty good results. I don't yet own a Rockwell tester. so I have no idea on the RC. After quench, a file would not mark the sample. Made a KSO (knife shaped object) and did some cut tests with excellent results after a 2 hour, 400*, temper. Did a differential temper and the spine flexes well without cracking the edge. So far, holds an edge very well. Armed with that info, I made a test knife and am pretty happy with the end results. It would just be nice to tell a potential paying customer "exactly" what kind of steel it is.
So far, Fastenal charges $50 per sample, but has a $125 minimum.
With a single test piece that's not an unreasonable fee, considering I can get 4 knives from a single blade. I'm currently sitting on 8 of these blades that I have already annealed and flattened. I contacted JD and their statement is that the information regarding metallurgy of the blades is proprietary. I explained that I can get a sample tested for a small fee and learn exactly what is in the steel, but they refused to disclose the requested information none-the-less.
Hay que feo.
So far, Fastenal charges $50 per sample, but has a $125 minimum.
With a single test piece that's not an unreasonable fee, considering I can get 4 knives from a single blade. I'm currently sitting on 8 of these blades that I have already annealed and flattened. I contacted JD and their statement is that the information regarding metallurgy of the blades is proprietary. I explained that I can get a sample tested for a small fee and learn exactly what is in the steel, but they refused to disclose the requested information none-the-less.
Hay que feo.