Bohler Steels

Irezumi

Irezumi

Joined
Mar 1, 2006
Messages
1,357
Hi all,

Decent blade steel is not easy to get in Australia, but we have some access to Bohler (not their full catalogue). I am looking to make a sword, with a thickness at the ricasso of about 1/3 of an inch. We are probably going to use a CNC machine so machinability of the steel is important. Out of the steels below, can you recommend if any of them are suitable? I have to check if they have any in stock at the size we want, so keep in mind all the below may not be available. Some may be ultra expensive. Any advice from the forum would be much appreciated. We are basically looking to make a sword than can be sharpened properly with good edge retention, and still be able to smash through a cinder block or breach a door if required.

Tool Steel
K110 - (Bohler D2)
R100 - AISI 52100
Bohler Viking/Chipper (this one sounded pretty good, they reckon is tougher than S7 with good machinability).
Bohler Arne (AISI 01)

High Speed Tool Steel
Vanadis 60 - C 2.3, Cr 4.2, Mo 7.0, W 6.5, Co 10,5 (this is the high colbalt powder steel)
Vanadis 30 - C 1,28, Cr 4.2, Mo 5.0, W 6.4, V 3.1 Co 8.5
S390 - C 1.6, Cr 4.8, Mo 2,00, V 5,00 W 10,50 Co 8.00
 
Also, check out their K340 Isodur. From all I can tell, it's basically A2 with a bit of extra goodies. Also, it's vacuum melted, so it should be clean.
 
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It's Böhler-Uddeholm here, they make the Elmax and Vanax as well - those are kinda expensive tho, and afaik the Vanadis series is in the same price range. I hear the Sleipner is a good knife steel too (not stainless, not sure what you're looking for)
 
Hi Zord, Bohler Australia doesnt carry the full Europe range unfortunately. The list above is about the best they have. Just looking for something in that range that would make a good sword. D2 is good, just wanted to see if any in my list were better.

I just noticed they list k305 a2, elmax and m390 on another part of the site. They also have the k340. i will call them tomorrow and see what they have.

Would a2 be better for a sword than elmax or m390?
 
Irezumi said:
Would a2 be better for a sword than elmax or m390?
Click to expand...


IMO, yes. Elmax is supposedly very strong for a stainless, but not going to come close to A2, I don't believe. M390 is a not so tough, super wear resistant powder stainless, and wouldn't make a good sword.
 
Thanks Danbo...i had a look at the super A2....seems a bit harder to machine. Think i will go with the k305 a2 if i can get it....otherwise the the bohler d2. Either way it will be hard to break at .33 inch thick.
 
IF you want something that can handle doors and cinderblocks then you need toughness... And you also wantr edge retention sadly most of the steesl with edge retention aren't very tough...

The table below is numbers I have collectedfor a few grades of steel from datasheets, Hardness and Wear are related to edge retention, impact is toughness...

Steel Grade Hardness Rc Impact Charpy ft-lbs Wear (Crossed cyl)
S7 57 125 1
L6 57 92 1
D2 59 22 3
CPM 3v 58 85 6
M4 62 32 20
M390 61 21 35

Bohler is tougher to get data for, since most of their datasheets talk about the properties but don't give typical test data in a standard format so its very hard to compare them to other high end steels like Crucible.

I'd also consider looking at local tool steel suppliers. You guys are closer to the pacific rim so should be able to get tool steels from local mold makers, or find out their suppliers.
 
Thanks mate...i think i have spoken to most of the steel merchants and everyone has said that a2 and any decent carbon steel is hard to get. I will keep searching but hopefully i can get some bohler a2. One steel merchant quoted me $380 per metre of 2 inch round d2 today...total ripoff.
 
Guys i spoke to Bohler today said he can get me some round bar in 01 so will most likely get that for now. If we make more, will do a special order of A2. 01 is a good steel from all reports anyway and good for machining.
 
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Surprised they would fill an order that small.
Not many Aussie blademakers source their bladesteel locally, and you can see why.
Although 2" round is pretty big, not too surprised by that price.
 
By using round stock you are paying for a lot of steel that is going to be thrown away.

Have you approached any spring shops? You should be able to obtain 5160/9260 or 10XX steels from them. Any of these will make a very tough sword, being bested on your list by maybe only the S7, come as bar stock, and cost a fraction of round tool steel.
 
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