When does molecular structure change?

J

JAMerolle

Joined
Jan 14, 2012
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233
When a knife steel is subject to fire how long does it take for the molecular structure to be compromised?
Thanks for the feedback.
 
There are no molecules in metals - that's what makes them metals .
Atoms ,crystals, and grains, that's all.
The really fast change in metals are things like conversion of austenite to martensite on quenching . This is very fast , at the speed of sound ! If you're asking about tempering from heat of grinding that can fast ,a very few seconds .The higher the temperature the faster tempering will occur.
In a practical sense during final grind , after HT, don't be in a hurry and have a container of water handy for frequent dipping to keep the blade cool.It's very easy to heat the edge and especially the tip to temper or even harden the steel ! Tips that break off [without any real stress ]are surely due to improper grinding.Edges that are soft until you resharpen a few times are also evidence of grinding damage.
 
I am talking my son drops my knife in a cole pit when cooking on the gril , left it in there for 10 min untill i was able to get it out. Is the steel compromised? The knife was d2.
 
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Blaming it on your kid ?? LOL
This again is temperature dependent .Looking at what tempering charts I have you might drop as much as 10 points HRC ,If heated to as much as 800 F.
 
Then we can say the knife is done

PS blame it on the kid .... I guess I should of left out the how lol
 
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