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Steels descriptions in Jay Fisher website
- Thread starter patrickguignot
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2020
- Messages
- 1
So, I just discovered Jay's site, then found this.
My take is that he is picky about his steels because he has a thing for corrosion resistance. D2 is used because it's a "less corrosion resistant steel for people who want that", and for some reason that seems to be one of his favorites. All his tactical knives seem to be made of either 440C or AT-34, leaning more toward AT-34.
For a long time, like many, I wondered whether forging or stock removal gave any significant advantage. Then I took a deep dive into heat treating, and realized the truth of the old adage:
If you want an edge to win,
Forge it thick and grind it thin.
So long as you post-heat treat it correctly, you can do absolutely anything during the forging process...except forge an edge. As you thin out the material at high heat, you loose all the carbon from the place where you need it the most...the edge. So, forge a thick edge, heat treat, and then carefully grind it down, without getting the material hot enough to change the temper.
Note that this is functionally identical to heat treating flat stock, and then carefully grinding away everything that isn't a knife. If anything, forging to "near net shape" simply saves you some time and effort, electricity, and used belts.
Jay also seems enamored with mirror finishes. That's a personal choice, but one that affects his choices of materials and processes. And since it's his website, he's entitled to evangelize in favor of mirror finishes and those processes. Likewise, you may agree or disagree as you please.
I would be interested in hearing what he had to say about S5 tool steel. I suspect he would find it lacking in corrosion resistance, which is a pity.
I also notice he mirror polishes and then blues some of his pieces (again, a personal choice), but then derides the practice of hard chroming knives because you sharpen the chrome off the edge. I'm not sure a see a difference between a blued blade with a shiny edge and a chromed one with the chrome ground off the edge. But then, he claims that hard chroming makes a blade less corrosion resistant as well, so maybe that's just bias on his part, or maybe there's some truth to that.
My take is that he is picky about his steels because he has a thing for corrosion resistance. D2 is used because it's a "less corrosion resistant steel for people who want that", and for some reason that seems to be one of his favorites. All his tactical knives seem to be made of either 440C or AT-34, leaning more toward AT-34.
For a long time, like many, I wondered whether forging or stock removal gave any significant advantage. Then I took a deep dive into heat treating, and realized the truth of the old adage:
If you want an edge to win,
Forge it thick and grind it thin.
So long as you post-heat treat it correctly, you can do absolutely anything during the forging process...except forge an edge. As you thin out the material at high heat, you loose all the carbon from the place where you need it the most...the edge. So, forge a thick edge, heat treat, and then carefully grind it down, without getting the material hot enough to change the temper.
Note that this is functionally identical to heat treating flat stock, and then carefully grinding away everything that isn't a knife. If anything, forging to "near net shape" simply saves you some time and effort, electricity, and used belts.
Jay also seems enamored with mirror finishes. That's a personal choice, but one that affects his choices of materials and processes. And since it's his website, he's entitled to evangelize in favor of mirror finishes and those processes. Likewise, you may agree or disagree as you please.
I would be interested in hearing what he had to say about S5 tool steel. I suspect he would find it lacking in corrosion resistance, which is a pity.
I also notice he mirror polishes and then blues some of his pieces (again, a personal choice), but then derides the practice of hard chroming knives because you sharpen the chrome off the edge. I'm not sure a see a difference between a blued blade with a shiny edge and a chromed one with the chrome ground off the edge. But then, he claims that hard chroming makes a blade less corrosion resistant as well, so maybe that's just bias on his part, or maybe there's some truth to that.
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2007
- Messages
- 9,978
My take is that he is a blowhard and doesn't like that other makers are using better materials for less and getting better results. If you want to try and defend him, have at it. If you have not heard of them, let me introduce you to Carothers Performance Knives and their delta heat treat. They are run by a man of science and magic hair, Nathan the Machinist, who is ridiculously picky about all the small details. Or take a look at the makers section, we have a ton of fantastic knife makers who can custom make you 5 blades for the price of one of Jay's knives.