Talonite

As far as I know,the talonite is no longer available now,it seems the SM100 is pop now?the flamed SM100 more colorful than the 6K or talonite
 
Talonite was was a Cobalt 6B alloy which was gradually displaced among most knife makers by Stellite 6K as the manufacturer's (Deloro Stellite) recommended alloy for knife blades. However, I believe David Boye's dendritic cobalt is a 6B product similar to talonite, and he still makes folders for the marine market--see boyeknives.com
 
Talonite is still available but it is very expensive. It is made in Asia. When the US dollar declined in value, the price of Talonite increased to the point where 6K was a better value. The problem with 6K is dealing with Deloro (the manufacturer).

Talonite is a different alloy than 6B. It has been hot rolled and age hardened. This gives it significantly better edge holding than 6B while retaining the toughness of 6B.

We have been working with an alternate source for Talonite. If everything goes well we will have more material available by 2014 Blade Show.

We recently bought a small amount of old Talonite bar stock. We offered it for sale and it sold out within two hours. One of the knifemakers (Brad Southard) who received a piece had never worked it. He was impressed with how easily it ground and finished. Here is a photo of one of the knives Brad made:

Southard1.JPG


Chuck
 
Hi Chuck,

Thanks for that input. Do you know of any advantage talonite has over 6K?

Thanks again,
Will
 
Not having to deal with Deloro!

Performance wise, very little. I've micro chipped 6K and bent Talonite. Both alloys get scary sharp. They cut you and you don't know you've been cut until you find blood in the area.

They both are specialty blade materials that excel in some areas and are horrible in other areas. I would not use either for a camp knife. Both make excellent kitchen or skinning knives if you are cutting meat and/or vegetables. However, if you try to cut or chop through bones, the edge quickly dulls. The cobalt is not hard enough to support the edge when impacted.

Chuck
 
You could search secondary markets for a Tom Mayo, a talonite version sold here on the exchange not too long ago.

Doug
 
Alpha Knife Supply said:
Not having to deal with Deloro!

Performance wise, very little. I've micro chipped 6K and bent Talonite. Both alloys get scary sharp. They cut you and you don't know you've been cut until you find blood in the area.

They both are specialty blade materials that excel in some areas and are horrible in other areas. I would not use either for a camp knife. Both make excellent kitchen or skinning knives if you are cutting meat and/or vegetables. However, if you try to cut or chop through bones, the edge quickly dulls. The cobalt is not hard enough to support the edge when impacted.

Chuck
Click to expand...

Thanks again, Chuck. That's been my experience as well. 6K has about 50% more carbon and is harder and holds an edge significantly longer than talonite, but I've heard 6K can be a little chippy. I've been impressed with both. The talonite Camillus used in their Simonich-design Cuda Talon has performed well for me, and I was delighted with how thinly they ground the edge--not one for abuse, but holds an edge well and cuts with very high efficiency. I have 6K blades from Kit Carson and from Gerber (the limited-run hunter commissioned by Deloro Stellite), and in my experience both those blades hold an edge longer than anything but my high-vanadium CPM blades. Cobalt alloys wouldn't be my first choice for a hard-use blade, although I have watched David Boye shave steel from a corner of a mild steel plate in his shop without edge damage. I also watched him mic that cobalt blade right after shaving the steel--.005" at the edge.
 
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