What steel for hollow handle knife?

T

tmix

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Jun 28, 2006
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I have access to a very nice Jet lathe and I would like to turn a hollow handle knife similar to a Chris Reeve design. I also have access to a bridgeport mill to machine the blade out of the bar after turning. The lathe has a very efficient coolant flow nozzle to help keep the steel from hardening, however the mill does not. I'm planning on starting with a 1.25" piece of round bar, but I don't know which steel to use. D2 seems to be the way to go, but I'm worried about work hardening while milling.
Which steel, or milling techniqe advice?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

tmix
 
if it were me i would coat the bar in lard and when it starts to melt shut off the mill and quench the steel and after its cooled off recoat it in lard and continue the process. anyone else have an idea?
 
Are you confused by work hardening vs heat hardening ?? To harden with heat you need to get to the normal hardening temp ! I hope your machining doesn't do that !! Work hardening happens cold and is normally caused by improper speed, feed and dull tooling. Can you rig up a temporary cooling system for the mill ?Even high speed air would help. Otherwise run it for a while then shut it off and cool. If that's a problem then take it out and drop it in cold water once in a while. An air hardening steel would probably be the best choice .Do you know if the handle of the Reeve is as hard as the blade ??
 
Dull tooling shouldn't be a problem as I'll have new valenite inserts available, however, I must say I'm clueless as to which speed and feed to use. I would imagine the speed of the tool or stock would be pretty high, similar to stainless? I would guess that the depth of cut should be relativley shallow, and the feed rate slow. Am I right?
If not, please advise.
 
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