Which blade steel can be hardened the MOST?

Adventure Sworn said:
According to this chart by Crucible, CPM 10v would be right up your alley. I'm not positive on how accurate this chart is.

10v has a low toughness, so don't make a chopper out of it, but for slicing it should be the best. I've heard of people using it for slicing applications and saying it holds an amazing edge. I've also heard a few bad things about some crucible steel though.

CPM-06.jpg


Edit: But then again, according to this chart, 9V should be the best steel for a knife period... but you don't see anyone ever using it. So like I said earlier, not sure how accurate this is.

Cody
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Perhaps someone who has used/made blades from 9V will see this and fill us in.
 
A lot of the exotic steels are difficult and expensive to HT properly, require special equipment, plus they are difficult to machine. So, custom makers with relatively moderate equipment can't really get the most out of them.
 
Yeah, but then again it's not any harder to heat-treat or work then CPM 3V, and people like to use that a lot. :confused:
 
9V is designed for low hardnesses. It's getting the performance on that graph likely no higher than RC 52. Not really a knife steel.
 
The Mastiff said:
9V is designed for low hardnesses. It's getting the performance on that graph likely no higher than RC 52. Not really a knife steel.
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Yes you're right, I don't know how I missed it before but it's page says,

" Hardening temperatures >2100F (1150) are not generally recommended due to the resulting decreased toughness. See chart below. If hardness >HRC 56 is required, consider using CPM 3V or CPM 10V."

Good call. :thumbup: Still brings 10v up for questioning. I'm sure it'd fit the bill for what this guy's looking for.
 
Adventure Sworn said:
Yes you're right, I don't know how I missed it before but it's page says,

" Hardening temperatures >2100F (1150) are not generally recommended due to the resulting decreased toughness. See chart below. If hardness >HRC 56 is required, consider using CPM 3V or CPM 10V."

Good call. :thumbup: Still brings 10v up for questioning. I'm sure it'd fit the bill for what this guy's looking for.
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I think Butch Harner (butcher_block) has used 10V. Maybe he'll see this thread and comment on it.
 
The PMR121 will go to 70HRc and if you think 10V is the way to go might as well push it and try the PM15V
 
The PMR121 will go to 70HRc and if you think 10V is the way to go might as well push it and try the PM15V
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You have an evil side to you Mr. Devanna. :) Recall Farid said he was going to use something like 60 belts grinding his R121 chopper project. :eek:

You were right about Rex 20 being a good blade steel though. I have a Dwyer SNG in it. He kept the RC too low though IMO. I'd like to see it higher by about 5 points.

It's like a super M2 steel I guess.

Joe/raleigh
 
For high hardness and adequate toughness, I like M2. I have not used many of the CPM steels, so I can only speculate on them. My M2 knife, made from an industrial hacksaw blade, specs at 64.5 to 66 HRc. I've dropped it from about 6' a couple of times, onto the tip, into concrete, and had no chipping. I threw it once and hit another piece of steel and the tip broke a little bit, maybe 1/32" or a little more. I flexed it 90 degrees a few times and it returned to true w/o any sign of damage. I've batond, dug holes in boards, and cut cardboard for an afternoon, all with an edge angle of about 17 degrees. This is a 5" machete style blade. No primary grind, just sharpened from the flat stock on a belt sander. A primary grind would definately caused some issues.
 
me2 said:
For high hardness and adequate toughness, I like M2. I have not used many of the CPM steels, so I can only speculate on them. My M2 knife, made from an industrial hacksaw blade, specs at 64.5 to 66 HRc. I've dropped it from about 6' a couple of times, onto the tip, into concrete, and had no chipping. I threw it once and hit another piece of steel and the tip broke a little bit, maybe 1/32" or a little more. I flexed it 90 degrees a few times and it returned to true w/o any sign of damage. I've batond, dug holes in boards, and cut cardboard for an afternoon, all with an edge angle of about 17 degrees. This is a 5" machete style blade. No primary grind, just sharpened from the flat stock on a belt sander. A primary grind would definately caused some issues.
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Gotta say that is one great story :thumbup:

Now, where did you get that "industrial hacksaw blade"? And how thick is it?
 
Got them from a fellow forumite. I have one that is about 0.09" and the one I used for those tests was 0.055". Thin for such a beating, but the flexing was not really a challenge. If you google "all hard power hacksaw" you can find some. Be sure they are solid high speed steel if you get any. Most are soft bodies with just enough edge wire (hard edge welded to soft body) to cut the teeth. Once the teeth are gone, as in shaping a knife blade, so is the good steel. I wanna make a leuku from the thicker one. I just haven't had time yet.
 
me2 said:
Got them from a fellow forumite. I have one that is about 0.09" and the one I used for those tests was 0.055". Thin for such a beating, but the flexing was not really a challenge. If you google "all hard power hacksaw" you can find some. Be sure they are solid high speed steel if you get any. Most are soft bodies with just enough edge wire (hard edge welded to soft body) to cut the teeth. Once the teeth are gone, as in shaping a knife blade, so is the good steel. I wanna make a leuku from the thicker one. I just haven't had time yet.
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If the teeth are ground away, and the good steel is gone, what is left is the softer steel, right? So how deep into the blade does the good steel go? Does it stop immediately at the top edge of the teeth, or is there perhaps another 1/16" that is good?
 
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