What type of steel?

[Marcel J.B. Morin]

A friend just cleaned out a company that makes dies for cutting leather. Many bars of steel which are app. 3/16 thick. Anyone know what kind of steel this would be. He has about 500 lbs. of it and I talked him out of taking it to the scrap yard until I find out if it can be used for making knives. Any and all help appreciated. Thanks.

Marcel

 

[Bart student]

I suppose something wear resistant like D2 or D3, much used in dies. Also, if heat is a factor, it's mostly HSS.
In any case, grab a few bars, take a small piece and HT it a few different ways.. very good method to find out if it's suitable for knives. Some people also do spark tests, but I can hardly see the difference in sparks, simply because I looks at what I'm doing more

greetz and take care, Bart.