Call for Charpy toughness samples

Robert Erickson said:
Is that the batch just before his latest?
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I think it’s 2, maybe three before the current. I think I bought it in 2014, iirc. The spec is very close to Don’s, ie. the spec still listed on his Aldo’s site. I just got feedback on a Hunter I made a few years back with it at Rc62. The hunter has skinned five animals, moose, deer, and elk, and has not had to sharpen it yet.

IMG_1051 by Wjkrywko, on Flickr
 
Just out of curiosity, what size piece of Don's W2 would you need for the cause? I mean, it might be interesting to have numbers for what is arguably the baseline W2 for most of us.
 
jdm61 said:
Just out of curiosity, what size piece of Don's W2 would you need for the cause? I mean, it might be interesting to have numbers for what is arguably the baseline W2 for most of us.
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2” of 1 1/2 to 2 inch round.

Hoss
 
Well, I have no 2 inch stuff nor any 1.5. I have 1.25 and 1.75, but not much of either.
 
We probably could test mild steel I'm just not sure that we would want to.
 
Larrin said:
We probably could test mild steel I'm just not sure that we would want to.
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I'm just curious how the shape of the charpy vs hardness curve would look like. I wonder where the peak ofothe curve would be.
 
So coming back to the 52100, going 25f hotter to 1500f looks like the optimum. The industry recommendation of 1550f is not useful for us as knife makers. 1500f works for the steel Devin used, but Aldo’s is a little different. I’ll be trying some coupons with Chuck’s steel, and find the optimum temp for austenitizing.
 
Willie71 said:
So coming back to the 52100, going 25f hotter to 1500f looks like the optimum. The industry recommendation of 1550f is not useful for us as knife makers. 1500f works for the steel Devin used, but Aldo’s is a little different. I’ll be trying some coupons with Chuck’s steel, and find the optimum temp for austenitizing.
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1550°F still worked fine without cryo, but I agree that 1500°F looks best.
 
Willie71 said:
This really reinforces the idea of dialing your process with your equipment and the specific steel supply, doesn’t it? A recipe gets you close, but not optimum.
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There is a lot of possible optimization that most people can't, or at least don't, do. Generally it is just targeting a hardness and hoping for the best.
 
Larrin said:
There is a lot of possible optimization that most people can't, or at least don't, do. Generally it is just targeting a hardness and hoping for the best.
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I need more advanced eqipment to optimize the way I want to. In the case of the 52100, for example, did Kevin see more optimal structures at 1475f, even though 1500f gives the peak toughness/hardness value? Or was it just optimizing aldo’s Steel that isn’t up to par with other 52100?
 
Willie71 said:
I need more advanced eqipment to optimize the way I want to. In the case of the 52100, for example, did Kevin see more optimal structures at 1475f, even though 1500f gives the peak toughness/hardness value? Or was it just optimizing aldo’s Steel that isn’t up to par with other 52100?
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Hey, Warren! When you have some funds, buy a low temperature molten salt pot for some austempering experiments. Or do it yourself!:) Seems like, for instance, 52100 steel toughness goes up the roof when heat treated to lower bainite (I’ve read somewhere it’s a 3:1 increase in toughness, compared to Martensite structure) and hardness doesn’t suffer that much (58hrc or so, still very good for a knife to be abused in the field, in my understanding). Can’t remember if Larrins studies confirm this, but doesn’t hurt trying!:D I’m sure 52100 has a lot of potential to be wherever we need it to be, really hard for a slicer or really tough for a chopper. All depends on heat treatment.
 
hugofeynman said:
Hey, Warren! When you have some funds, buy a low temperature molten salt pot for some austempering experiments. Or do it yourself!:) Seems like, for instance, 52100 steel toughness goes up the roof when heat treated to lower bainite (I’ve read somewhere it’s a 3:1 increase in toughness, compared to Martensite structure) and hardness doesn’t suffer that much (58hrc or so, still very good for a knife to be abused in the field, in my understanding). Can’t remember if Larrins studies confirm this, but doesn’t hurt trying!:D I’m sure 52100 has a lot of potential to be wherever we need it to be, really hard for a slicer or really tough for a chopper. All depends on heat treatment.
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I plan to make some salt pots when time permits. My press and a dedicated hogging grinder are in the cue ahead of salt pots.

I used to use a lot of 52100, until I started using z-wear. I used to use W2 when people wanted differential hardening, and 52100 for monosteel. Z-wear replaced 52100 for monosteel in my shop.

You might be interested in some a8mod samples that will be coming up. Chuck has it in stock now, and steel will be coming my way for samples in the near future.
 
Willie71 said:
I plan to make some salt pots when time permits. My press and a dedicated hogging grinder are in the cue ahead of salt pots.

I used to use a lot of 52100, until I started using z-wear. I used to use W2 when people wanted differential hardening, and 52100 for monosteel. Z-wear replaced 52100 for monosteel in my shop.

You might be interested in some a8mod samples that will be coming up. Chuck has it in stock now, and steel will be coming my way for samples in the near future.
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Perfect! A8mod it’s probably the one I prefer, if I have to choose only one steel. Can’t wait for those results!:)
 
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