Using 8% Cobalt

L

lumpy

Joined
Jan 17, 2005
Messages
4
I am writing this for my husband, Lumpy. He is currently making a filet knife out of M42 cobalt, 8% cobalt and wonders if he should phosphate it to help prevent rust.
 
M42 tool steel is a strange choice for a filet knife or any other type of knife. It is a high speed steel designed for cutting tools and the cobalt is there so it stays hard even when red hot.It is difficult to work and to heat treat .It is not in any way rust free so phosphating would help reduce rust....There are some good stainless steels for that job !!
 
I get M42 Cobalt for free. It comes out of a band saw blade. 15' 6" long by 2 1/2" wide. I have to PAY for stainless steel. It is thin, flexible, and it holds an edge. Makes a good filet knife. Big problem is putting the rock handles on it.

UnQuote! Thanks so much for your reply!
 
hey, Lumpy! I dont know you, and you dont know who the he!! I am, but I sent an email regarding your question to the editor of the british journal of corrosion science and engineering. I will be making some fillet knives soon, matched to fishing poles made by ...Me! I looked and looked, Crucibleservices has some great stuff but their pages for M42 were down, so I started grasping at straws. Who knows, they cant be all that bad across the pond, so maybe I'll get some info. In the meantime, I did not see one referance to a coating applied to M42 for corrosion prevention, although the bandsaw blades I looked into were coated with something (dry, Im guessing) to provide permanent lubrication whilst cutting. Cuts the super steels, looks like good stuff. If I hear anything, I'll post it under "Hey lumpy".

Respectfully, Levi Farster
 
lumpy is home and says "I thank you for the information. I got a new piece of a new Lennox saw that is made for cutting inker nail that's got a carbide tip teeth to it and they say that the steel that the blade is made out of is supposed to better than the M42 cobalt. It is oil treated but I don't know exactly the specs on it yet. The only thing that I can tell different in it now is it doesn't have the spring back. If you bend it, it bends, period. It don't spring back to its straight position.

When I get a couple of them up, I'll make her take a picture of them and send them to you.
 
Lumpy, I want to see you filet so many fish, so fast that you heat the blade red hot and put that cobalt to use!
 
I made a blade from a metal cutting saw blade with M42 on the edge.

Nothing fancy by any stretch of the imagination..........but it does what it is supposed to do.......cut. Managed to keep it clean and relatively dry, so no rust yet.

Lumpy, I hope yours works for you.

VV
Clark
 
bad idea, I use the stuff a lot for end mills, it is brittle.\

are you sure that the edge is not M42 and the back some other material???
 
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