what do you think of cryo treatment

Jason B.

Jason B.

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Jun 13, 2007
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I found a company in ohio called cryoplus I was thinking of sending some of my knife blades to them. all the facts of this process lead me to believe that it makes the steel better the steels i will be sending are 154cm and AUS8 I also heard that 154cm performes very well after being cryo treated has anyone here ever had this done and what do you think.
 
It does not perform miracles !! It can improve the more complex steels like 154cm , adding 1-2 points of hardness.
 
If you are more abusive the softer steel will hold up better, if you use them mostly for slicing and treat them well, it might help.
 
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It won't turn 1080 into D-2, but it will transform the unconverted austenite in a blade into martensite. As mete said you will gain a little hardness and toughness in complex alloy stainless steels and some carbon steel alloys. I highly recommend it for all CPM steels.
Stacy
 
I am more intrested in the 154cm blade of my commander its said to reduce micro chipping. The process goes from -300 to +300 degrees, I have a CQC-8 black blade (commander is satin) do you think the coating can handle the temp.
 
If you are talking about the factory blades on your knives, they already have been cryo treated ,probably.
Stacy
 
are you sure my commander gets real bad edge chipping
 
Even if it did not recieve cryo it is well past the point that it would help the steel. cryo must be done a spart of the initial heat treat process. It's not something that can be done months later and still produce a benefit.
 
I still think i will send it out its only $10
 
Ed Fowler says very good things about cryo treatment. one test he wrights about is using 5160 and the blades are forged and tripple quentched. he says that befor cryo the blades averaged 132 cuts over repeted tests. he cryo treated the blades at -320 for 4 hrs. after cryo the blades where cutting an average of 270 cuts and after the first 100 cuts it stll shaved hair. i love reading his stuff i have read knife talk countless times. he says cryo most affectived of forged blades. hope this helps
 
so it may have a better effect on a CS carbon V blade than a 154cm blade
 
There was an article about cryo down to -300 degrees and it worked very well with most of the blades most speacially on D2 which made it 300% better. I think a finished blade can still be cryoed and then heat treated again. There is a debate on whether it should be heat treated again or not, I think. Texas Knifemakers also does this type of cryo, I think.
 
Cryo treatment?
Man, I have a 4 year old in the house. She's really good at dishing out the "cry-o-treatment." :rolleyes: :p
 
If you have an Emerson Commander it has be heat treated, quenched and tempered already. If the blade is chipping it may be the way your are using it. If not, you may want to send it back to Emerson for warranty repair. If you plan on sending it in for cryo you are wasting your time. Cryo only helps right after the heat treat.
-John
 
mete said:
It does not perform miracles !! It can improve the more complex steels like 154cm , adding 1-2 points of hardness.
Click to expand...

Don't want to hijack this thread but mete I am curious can you explain this a little
more in detail . I make mostly slipjoint folders as most of you know . I use ATS34 and 440C on most of them , and cannot see were cyro would be a benefit . I am simply ignorant of this.
 
before mete comes in and gives you the right answer :) from what I understand, martensite starts to form at whatever Mf is for your steel, and the austenite continues to undergo transformation as temperature drops, but it doesn't necessarily stop at room temperature (depends on where your room is, heh). By continuing further down in temp, you convert more of the remaining austenite.
 
As Mete said, you pick up 1-2 points of hardness. Additonally, you convert retained austenite. All air hardening steels benefit from a cryo treatment. Some others, such as 52100 and O-1 do, as well. Read the amnufacturer's heat treating specs. That will tell you whether the steel will benefit from cryo, or not. Cryo is at least -100F, not stuck in the freezer overnight.

ATS34 that has not been cryo'd is known for edge chipping.

Simply put, if you don't cryo stainless or air hardening blades, you are not producing the best blade that you can.

Gene
 
this process goes from -300 to +300. the commander is chipping from normal use with a edge angle of about 15-18 degrees even softer materials will wear the edge easley this is the same for bolth of my emersons some may say to send them back but i have seen similar results with other 154cm blades I know the edge will not last like S30V but I hate to loose the very keen edge on the first lite cutting task


this company does alot of drill bits for mining companies so i dont see how it will not effect my knife the science behind this process also tells me it will have an effect I dont understand how you say it wont
 
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