What Steel Is This?

S

Stolle

Joined
Oct 15, 2002
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14
I happened across several bars of steel that are the right size for me to cut up and learn to make knives out of. I have two thicknesses, 0.094 and 0.125", and each bar is about 3"x 40".

My problem is that I don't know what kind of steel is in these outside of the assurances of a friend that they are 'tool steel'. They were used in an industrial application as scrapers and have been worn outside their tolerances, thus they can't use them anymore. The price was right, free, but is there any way to find out what they are made from?

They are hardened so I'll need to anneal them. As I understand it that is a pretty generic process but I suspect I'll need to know more before I try to harden them again.
 
If these bars came from in industrial application it might not be easy to anneal them. Could very well by D-2 or even A-2. Either one would be hard to anneal if you don't have a heat treating oven. I believe D-2 you need to bring up to close to hardening temp (1850) and then hold it there and gradually bring down the temp over a long period of time. You might get an idea by the spark, there are charts that will help you out but at this time I don't know where you would look. Maybe someone may know.

If you had a tourch you could heat up an end and see if you notice any difference with a file. Get it good and hot, maybe close to orange and let it air cool. If its still hard, you've got an air hardening tool steel. If your file digs in alittle at least it means its not air hardening and you'll be able to anneal it and try working it......Just some ideas for you to try......Ray
 
There is a possibility that they are M2. That steel is extremely difficult to anneal. If you try a normal type of anneal, and it stays hard, you probably have M2. If so, you can make small knives from it, by grinding. You won't have to worry about ruining the temper, that's for sure.:eek: ;)
 
They were used to scrape asphalt off of a fiberglass mat as it zipped by at 800 feet per minute. This is a commercial roofing plant.

Their maintenance manager it trying to find out who made the scrapers and put me in touch with them, maybe they will know what steel they are.

Regardless, thanks for the suggestions. I have access to a computer controlled muffle furnace (I run the lab that tests the roffing company's products). It really isn't for heat treating but I think it will do what has been suggested here, it gets hot enough and is very accurate anyway. I think I'll play around with small pieces of this steel and see what I can find out about it. Somehow I doubt my first few blades will be all that good so if I can just soften it up enough to work with I'll be happy. If it won't take a temper after that at least I'll get practice at grinding and shaping.
 
I'm guessing D-2. That should have the wear resistance needed for that application. M-2 is usually for steel work
 
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