Chromium bladed knife?

D

Dr Heelhook

Joined
Jul 24, 2007
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Some guy in General was talking about using pure chromium to make a knife blade, for corrosion resistance. It got me thinking about why I’ve never heard of anyone trying that before. It is a very hard metal, maybe a full chromium blade would be too brittle, but what about maybe a laminate blade with titanium in the sides and chromium int the middle for the edge?
What would the downsides be?
 
Eschewing the problem of how one might laminate chromium and titanium, the exposed edge would be brittle enough that even tungsten carbide would make a better knife edge. Which is brittle enough to require such blunt edge geometry to survive use as to be not particularly efficient at cutting.

So kinda like asking why don't we wear water for fire protective clothing since water doesn't catch on fire.
 
kuraki said:
Eschewing the problem of how one might laminate chromium and titanium, the exposed edge would be brittle enough that even tungsten carbide would make a better knife edge. Which is brittle enough to require such blunt edge geometry to survive use as to be not particularly efficient at cutting.

So kinda like asking why don't we wear water for fire protective clothing since water doesn't catch on fire.
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Loud and clear.
 
Just to be clear I wasn't trying to be snide, just to make an analogy anyone would understand. If hardness were the only requirement for a knife blade, or if toughness could be added to extremely hard materials simply and easily, we'd all have industrial diamond edged knives in our pockets.
 
kuraki said:
Just to be clear I wasn't trying to be snide, just to make an analogy anyone would understand. If hardness were the only requirement for a knife blade, or if toughness could be added to extremely hard materials simply and easily, we'd all have industrial diamond edged knives in our pockets.
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No problem at all. I wanted a clear answer and I got one.
It sounded like a bad idea to begin with, I just prefer not to talk someone out of an interesting project unless I really have to. :-)
 
"...I don t think that you understand in that thread what he want to do :) No pure chromium , he want to add hard chrome on titanium blade …"

No, he wanted to laminate titanium on a pure chromium core.

"....a laminate blade with titanium in the sides and chromium int the middle for the edge?"



There are many things that have been tried in attempts to replace steel... and few have worked to any degree at all. The biggest drawback to many alternate materials is price. Making a blade that costs a factor of 10 to 100 more and requires industrial equipment to make isn't a viable alternative to good old steel. The metallurgy ( and HT) of steel allows a huge range of outcomes in hardness, wear resistance, sharpness, and toughness … you pick your desired outcome and make it happen to the best blend possible.

The example I use in teaching this type idea is:
"Wheels have been around for thousands of years. The first wheels were round. They still are round. The materials, manufacturing, use, and tolerances have been greatly improved … but they are still round because there isn't a better shape.
 
Natlek said:
I don t think that you understand in that thread what he want to do :) No pure chromium , he want to add hard chrome on titanium blade

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/chromium-coated-titanium-knife.1632027/
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I’m honestly not sure that guy quite knows what he’s doing himself neither.

He was considering chrome plating the edge onto the blade, I suggested maybe making a chromium core laminate instead, so he can sharpen it without removing the chrome coating.

Like I said, I hate to talk anyone out of an interesting project, but this doesn’t seem very well thought through.
 
View attachment 1044572 Why not just get a Stellite knife like the David Boye stuff. It is half Chrome and half Cobalt. It has great wear resistance and great corrosion resistance. They even use it to coat the edge of bulldozer blades.
 
David Boye's dendritic cobalt and the Stellite alloys will make a fine knife, but as I was pointing out earlier, few nives get used as bulldozer blades. Those alloys are very expensive and you could make ten regular knives that would do the same tasks for the money. Also, they aren't the same to grind, finish, and sharpen as regular steel.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
David Boye's dendritic cobalt and the Stellite alloys will make a fine knife, but as I was pointing out earlier, few nives get used as bulldozer blades. Those alloys are very expensive and you could make ten regular knives that would do the same tasks for the money. Also, they aren't the same to grind, finish, and sharpen as regular steel.
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What’s the density on stellite approximately? Is it heavier than titanium?
 
I find the Stellite knives to be very useful and practical. The Buck 110 has a custom Stellite 6-K blade. The Boye folder has a cast Stellite 6-B blade. The Camillus CUDA MAXX has a custom machined Stellite 6K blade.The Camillus CUDA MAXX, at bottom, has a Stellite 6-BH (Talonite) blade. It is also machined. View attachment 1044830 View attachment 1044829
 
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