The more I learn.....

[thegeek574]

The more I find that I do not know. I have a few questions. just random stuff i have come up with.

1. what is a suitable thickness for G10 in a small paring knife. I am hoping to put together something small, and i think mom would appreciate it if i used her favorite color, red. in that case, i am not finding an incredible amount of G10 that is 3/8ths, which i thought was about the right size for scales. she and my sister have smaller hands than i do, and so i am thinking that maybe something smaller would work. am i crazy?

2. How easy is W2 to file? I am going to be ordering stuff from aldo as my next knifemaking purchase, and I was planning on 4' of 1/4x2 5160 and 4' of 1/8x1 1084. I would get all the blades done and send them off to peters. however, I have seen some W2 and saw that it was a bit of a favorite, and so I was wondering if it was as easy to file as 1080/1084. I have the biggest magicut they make, and so i am fine on file quality. I just finished my first blade on 1080, and that was alright for filing after the anneal, but I do not want something much harder. I know to stay away from 3V, 10V and other really tough steels, but W2 intrigues me.

3. what is the general consensus on n690? is it good, bad, is everyone indifferent, or the best thing to have happened to knives since the invention of steel? also, how hard is it to file. I do not want a lot of stuff that will take hours to complete 1 small section of the bevel. thanks so much to all for the help.

 

[Ed Caffrey]

1. For a paring knife, I would go with 1/8" G10 material. 3/8" is going to be way too much material, and it's likely that you going to wind up grinding 2/3 of it away.

2. W2 is fairly easy to file, provided it has been fully annealed. All too often steel comes from suppliers in "spherodize anneal" format...my term for this it "half annealed" steel.

3. N690 is something I do not have a great deal of experience with, aside from the chemistry. The chemisty indicates it would be an excellent choice for harsh environments, but might not be the best at toughness and edge retention.

 

[thegeek574]

1. thanks. this is a huge help
2. there is a good chance i will try it out. how is aldo at annealing stuff?
3. ok, I was just thinking about it. I was not sure if it would be worth giving it a try.

 

[Ed Caffrey]

Just wanted to get back to you about #2.....Aldo is essentially a "retailer" for steel, he doesn't have anything to do with how the steel is annealed. Speaking in general terms, the "norm" for most steel producing companies is to spherodize anneal, simply because it is the most cost/time effect method, and meet MOST of the requirements of steel consumers.

You might be aware of it, but have you ever tried drilling a hole in a piece of steel...only to have the drill bit hit very hard steel about 1/2 way through? Usually that is a spherodized anneal. Many times if I am building a stock removal blade, I will have to anneal the material in my shop just to make it sure the steel is fully annealed.