What's wrong with my w2

Ryan, thank you for your patience with this steel and for taking all this time to post all the results here. Ive got my W2 that have had similar problem as yours headed to Peters , will be interesting to see if they can get it to test out at rc 62
 
Ryan Minchew said:
I agree. But I keep getting messages from other makers with things to try, so I figure why not. I still need to try one in the forge but a combination of laziness and getting called into work on days off has prevented that.
Click to expand...

Forge or oven, it won't make a bit of difference after all the tests you've done. There is something wrong with your steel. Either it's mislabeled, and was something else or it's a bad batch. Maybe for kicks and giggles, try air gardening a piece as if it's stainless.
 
Obviously crap steel. Will NJSB replace just the steel, or also the 20+ wasted hours + spent fuel, etc.?

Not trying to be a jerk, and I love Aldo - truly - but a "bad batch" of steel is, in my opinion, pretty unacceptable. It should never have left the warehouse.
 
Wulf said:
Obviously crap steel. Will NJSB replace just the steel, or also the 20+ wasted hours + spent fuel, etc.?

Not trying to be a jerk, and I love Aldo - truly - but a "bad batch" of steel is, in my opinion, pretty unacceptable. It should never have left the warehouse.
Click to expand...

They've sent new steel. I will be honest at first I was getting upse over a lot of lost time. But in the end my "real" job is stressful, knife making is also a source of income but also a passion. I will just take the good with the bad and go on. I worked a night shift then came home and worked all day in the knife shop. 20 minutes after going to bed I got called out 1 hour of sleep in 41 hours. I figure with my shift work and lack of sleep my blood pressure stays high no reason to make it worse lol.
 
timos- said:
Ryan, thank you for your patience with this steel and for taking all this time to post all the results here. Ive got my W2 that have had similar problem as yours headed to Peters , will be interesting to see if they can get it to test out at rc 62
Click to expand...

Hopefully mines just a bad stick and you don't have any problems
 
Second stick here. Another maker has ran 4 coupons on his set up from my two bars and had the same results. Some soft and some hard spots. I've wasted too much time with this steel I wish I could have back.
 
Don Hanson III said:
So the second stick is bad also?
Click to expand...
It's either bad or I'm missing one basic fundamental step and I have no clue what that step is lol. Knifemaker friend got the exact same results. I still haven't tried the forge because it's hot in West Texas and I haven't gotten into town in time to fill propane tanks. I heat treated 1095 yesterday with no issues.
 
Don Hanson III said:
Well that is a bummer.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I feel for you man. 'Failure' (using the word carefully here because I don't think you did anything wrong here) where we learn something is expected and even acceptable in most cases. Failure without ever knowing why can be a real tough pill to swallow.
 
Ryan, a friend of mine who was having issues with some of that W2 did a soak at 1900°F ( I don't recall how long...my guess is not long...10 minutes maybe). This corrected the problem, and the blade was able to be hardened. If and when you try that, make sure you do a few thermal cycles afterwards. I think the Vanadium will keep grains pinned at 1900°F, but not sure of the temp vanadium carbides are broken up, but I think it's higher than 1900.

This is a hit/miss thing with that W2. I have/had 4 sticks of that batch, without one single problem. Hamon could be better, but I attribute that to my skills (lack of) more than the steel. There was a very bad batch of Aldo's W2 from a few years ago, I surely hope he didn't send you anything from that batch.
 
J. Doyle said:
Agreed. I feel for you man. 'Failure' (using the word carefully here because I don't think you did anything wrong here) where we learn something is expected and even acceptable in most cases. Failure without ever knowing why can be a real tough pill to swallow.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean. Typically if something doesnt go my way, I can walk back through or practice and eventually get it. It's not happening here.

samuraistuart said:
Ryan, a friend of mine who was having issues with some of that W2 did a soak at 1900°F ( I don't recall how long...my guess is not long...10 minutes maybe). This corrected the problem, and the blade was able to be hardened. If and when you try that, make sure you do a few thermal cycles afterwards. I think the Vanadium will keep grains pinned at 1900°F, but not sure of the temp vanadium carbides are broken up, but I think it's higher than 1900.

This is a hit/miss thing with that W2. I have/had 4 sticks of that batch, without one single problem. Hamon could be better, but I attribute that to my skills (lack of) more than the steel. There was a very bad batch of Aldo's W2 from a few years ago, I surely hope he didn't send you anything from that batch.
Click to expand...
I tried a few minutes at 1800 but not higher. Dropped down and did a cycle at 1500, and 1450 and 1400 I think. Maybe that was too many steps and not enough heat on the first?

Don Hanson III said:
Well that is a bummer.
Click to expand...
Yes it is, but I did get some of the w2 rounds you sold a while back. I cut off a thick chunk and threw it in during one of my experiments and according to the file its hardened everywhere. I didn't cut or grind it even enough to test with the Rockwell tester but my initial finding seems to be different from the bar stock
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top