Part 2
Steels? I am working with CPM154, W2, occasionally 1095, I currently am working on getting proficient in S35vn and Trying out 3v, 80crv2
Which steel are you interested in?
Wouldn't it be great if I was more familiar with those steels so I'll leave this to guy's who are better versed in steels, like you Jarrett, Phillip and Phil
FWIW I like CPM154 just fine
I don't ever see myself not working with CPM154 and consider it one of my core materials. I have become so familiar and comfortable with this steel. The heat treat is spot on IMO and it has so much to offer for me as a knifemaker and you as the user without much compromise. CPM154 with my heat treat regiment I feel confident will perform outstanding for knife in my current line-up.
I do see however the need to increase my repertoire of steels for more specialized tasks, and sense I feel I have my heat treatment on my CPM154 dialed in I don't see any problems with this. Like with the CPM154 I would want to experiment with new alloys to obtain the optimal performance for the given task.
W2, and 1095 are both excellent simple alloys with a High carbon content, the W2 is in a nutshell composite wise a 1095 with a little bit of chromium and vanadium which helps with the grain structure, increases wear resistance and adds better shock resistance than 1095.
Both are used in a wide variety of applications from small EDC knives to large choppers and swords, I will have to say IMO W2 has an edge over 1095 as far as versatility and workability.
Both are shallow hardening steels unlike CPM154, A2,and O1 steels you are familiar with which are deep hardening steel that harden uniformly more or less throughout the blade, The shallow hardening properties of w2 and 1095 allow for a full hardness to penetrate through from surface to surface on thin cross section but does not in thicker areas allowing for a more flexible and softer core. This characteristic of these two steels allows for a really hard cutting edge hard through and through but as you travel up the blade to the spine this softer core will start to become more prominent in the mass of the steel.
How does this translate into user benefit, well by having a blade that is close to full hardness on the edge or desired hardness and a softer core and spine the blade can withstand more abuse, mainly in areas like batoning, prying and any other areas where a more brittle blade would be subpar and likely fail catastrophically before the 1095 or w2
You can add to and build onto this characteristic by differently hardening, you can achieve different hardness in some deep hardening steels like O1 and A2,
But lacking the shallow hardening nature of the W2 and 1095 it is not the same end product.
By differentially hardening a shallow hardening steel you essentially expand on the already inherent characteristic qualities of the steel by adding a insulating layer to the outside of the blade usually in my case Satinite, which is a refractory clay.
When you apply the clay to the spine of the blade and leaving the cutting edge bare you are allowing the steel to cool at different rates, the bare cutting edge on a W2 or 1095 blade will cool the fastest reaching full hardness when paired with a fast quench oil like parks50. The remaining coated section of the blade cools slower thus producing a hardening line that should follow the clay layout on the blade resulting in what is historically and technically referred to as a Hamon.
The Hamon which is different than a temper line is a visual display of the metallurgical and molecular change that happens to the steel during heat treat. I only consider what I know a basic understanding of these properties. And I lack the knowledge on the technical terminology so I will explain in layman's terms. From my understanding is that when a steel is heated up the lattice structure that binds the the molecules together begin to relax and at a certain point they start to rearrange themselves and the steel goes through a sort of structural change on the molecular level. This is called the critical temp. At this point all the changes are happening fast in these two steels. There is a short window to where the molecules rearrange themselves and start to expand and become too large. So timing is everything you want the steel to soak long enough at critical temp to undergo the molecular change but not so long that the grain grows so large it causes a brittle blade. You can think of it like silt or sand in relation to building a sand castle. You want your grain structure to be like fine silt or sand these bind to one another in a tighter group whereas larger grains will have a harder time binding to one another. These changes happen in all steels and is the process in which hardening is achieved.
What makes W2 and 1095 different is the are hyper eutectoid steels, and the hamon shows the different molecular structures that exist in the steel.
A temper line is different in the sense that the steel does not actually go through the molecular changes that have occurred to give you a Hamon.
A temper line is achieved by drawing the hardness out of the spine or by differently, or edge quenching deep hardening steels. Deep hardening and Non Hyper Eutectoid steels will not undergo the necessary molecular changes to achieve a true hamon and lack the characteristics needed to achieve Hamon therefore I know them a temper lines.
Where do you use your knife mostly?
Kitchen and in the field dressing out a hog or a whitetail.
I have a fairly good understanding of what constitutes a good chef's knife or kitchen knife and plan to continue in that direction, but I am afraid I will have to study up on the blades more specialized in processing your little 4 legged happy meals. I have a few books on butchering livestock and skinners I will have to dive into soon.
What kind of new models would you like to see in the future?
Likely nobody else will say this but I'd like a dedicated boning knife [ a raptor style], a 8 to 10' chef style knife and a Nikiri style blade, but that's just me.
All this said I absolutely am blown away with the Nomad in terms of overall usefulness AND aesthetics. I would love to see a larger version in the future.
Chris I hope this was helpful! I really appreciate this kind of interaction!
I say yes to all of these, I will probably be tackle them in order as the time and the inspiration arises.
Thank you for the compliments on the Nomad. You guys help it become a reality by giving me great feedback and pointing me in a general direction. So thank you as well. You are the second person to mention a larger version, I do believe that will be on my short list.
Douglas, this is beyond helpful and a tremendous value to me to be able to interact with my fans and customers in a way that can be translated into actual
tangible items. I enjoy bringing Ideas to life for you guys and part of why I continue to make knives is the satisfaction I obtain when I see someone cherish and enjoying something that I created with my hands.
