Review Need someone to make a knife, compare and review to STELLITE 6K and / or Cobalt Alloy 6BH

[HPAlloys]

It is the same composition as 6BH, but the aim hardness is Rockwell C50 after final heat treat - if necessary.
This iteration should help correct the soft Cobalt matrix holding the Tungsten Carbides that can cause an edge roll, as it will be supplied near Rc48 before heat treatment.

6BH would normally be Rc40 minimum in the full-hard condition. There will be a small sacrifice in ductility, knowing mother nature and the boundaries of what is possible.
Corrosion resistance and non-magnetic properties will be similar to better than 6BH.

The material is not available on the market yet, just looking to gather some real world feedback - hopefully from a maker that is familiar with STELLITE 6, 6K and or 6BH. This product will be made solely in the USA.

I am offering to make and supply two pieces of sheet waterjet cut to shape, one for the test that you can test / keep, and one that will be sent back for display / personal use.
The successful candidate, upon making a comparable blade - may be provided with an exclusive North American arrangement to buy more product for use in knives.

I have a NOS knife to make the comparison against, it's return is not negotiable as it is from my personal collection with too much sentiment attached to it.

TESTING

5/8" rope cutting - how many cuts before it goes dull. If it won't cut paper, it's dull.

Metal table torture - rap the edge of the blade 5 times. Inspect for damage to edge either in chipping or edge rolling. The blades should not break.

Corrosion - clean the blades with window cleaner to remove any oils that may protect the metal. Wipe dry and rub citric acid (lime or lemon) on both sides and repeat for a few days without further washing.
If that's not enough, we could do something with saltwater or leave in a brine tank for a week.

* Delete if not allowed *
7/1 Updated for clarification of terminology. Added test information.

 

[scdub]

Huh???

You need “someone to make a knife”, but YOU are going to make/ cut out two blanks. So do you want someone to finish the blanks??

Then do you want them to do some testing??

Sorry, just a very confusing post…

 

[Locutus D'Borg]

Good luck. The only knife maker whom I see selling Stellite 6K knives is Tom Mayo from Hawaii.

 

[Burke]

Sounds like the poster is an importer with a water jet looking to get into the knife market. Unfortunately I think the timing on this is about 15 years past and not many makers are still using Stellite or Talonite, it having been superseded by LC200N and other high-stainless steels.

 

[HPAlloys]

Huh???

You need “someone to make a knife”, but YOU are going to make/ cut out two blanks. So do you want someone to finish the blanks??

Then do you want them to do some testing??

Sorry, just a very confusing post…

Yes. I would rather let someone that is familiar with the grade to make the blade just as the old version was tested.
Waterjet is just a means to cut the 2D blank in the style of a drop point.
It's similar, but a different temper really. Much harder than the original. I've tried to grind the material at my house, but I do not think the quality is going to come out anything like the reference blade.

 

[HPAlloys]

Good luck. The only knife maker whom I see selling Stellite 6K knives is Tom Mayo from Hawaii.

I don't have a means to contact the legend Tom Mayo.

 

[HPAlloys]

Sounds like the poster is an importer with a water jet looking to get into the knife market. Unfortunately I think the timing on this is about 15 years past and not many makers are still using Stellite or Talonite, it having been superseded by LC200N and other high-stainless steels.

This product is not an import. I cannot stress this enough, as that was the main problem initially.

It's been awhile since we have been active in the knife market, and this is the newest / latest / greatest iteration. It took time to resolve the supply and quality (flatness, gauge) problems we had importing, but the forging and rolling are performed in house on this product.
Material is melted in the USA. It starts off melted in the USA into PIG, then re-melted in a Vacuum Induction Furnace to reduce voids and increase purity.
From this ingot state the material is heated and forged from ingot to slab.
Slab ground and prepped to roll to plate, then prepared to meet finish at it's final thickness. I've made an offer to AKS in the past with no interest.

From what I understand, the heft that the Cobalt provides is what divers want.

The push for this product is because it has different properties than supplied in the past (finer grain and harder), and we now have full control over the product from melt to packaging. Raw material inventory is good, and the lead times are not going to be 52 weeks anymore.

We are just a small company wanting to grow while the economy is contracting. This is when great relationships are built.

Now that I am a member I can more easily provide further information. More information about the differences between 6B, 6BH and 6BCR :

HPAlloys™ Cobalt 6B

Cobalt 6B, an aerospace product conforming to AMS 5894 offered made in USA. [HPAlloys™ is pending trademark with the USPTO]

info.hpalloy.com

The CR designation is what I can say is a 'nod' to my mother and father respectively, the founders of the company High Performance Alloys, Inc. Cella and Russ moved to Indiana with Union Carbide in Kokomo, Cabot - which would later become Haynes International. Russ was involved in the metallurgy and in later years marketing of the Stellite Brand products.

 

[HPAlloys]

I do not expect that the blade making is going to be better, but the edge retention should be better with a harder Cobalt matrix to hold the tungsten carbides. Here is a picture of the comparison knife.

COBALT alloy 6BCR UNS R30016

COBALT alloy 6BCR is wear resistant alloy used for knives, blades and scrapers. Commonly used in place of 6K for ductility, availability, and economics. 6BCR is available in sheet and plate. 6BCR (6K replacement) CoCrW meets or exceeds UNS R30016.

www.hpalloy.com

 

[Joseph Bandeko]

I'm sure I could do this for you!
I have not worked with this material before but I am always up something new and I'm good at figuring things out!
I do need to say I'm getting orders faster then I can make them and my waiting list is currently at 3+- months.
If your still looking for someone DM, or Email me at bunkerhillblades@gmail.com and we can discuss all the details!

Best regards,
Joseph

 

[HPAlloys]

I'm sure I could do this for you!
I have not worked with this material before but I am always up something new and I'm good at figuring things out!
I do need to say I'm getting orders faster then I can make them and my waiting list is currently at 3+- months.
If your still looking for someone DM, or Email me at bunkerhillblades@gmail.com and we can discuss all the details!

Best regards,
Joseph

Emailed. I'm not in a rush.

 

[HPAlloys]

My terminology on this was incorrect. I should have said sheet waterjet cut to shape instead of knife blank.

 

[HPAlloys]

Still looking for someone with experience in cobalt blades. I don't plan on this being a paid review, though materials are provided.