Perhaps try contacting Bob at Niagara Specialty Metals.
Bob is a BF member... "nsm"
http://www.bladeforums.com/members/nsm.249258/
I also wonder if Kevin Cashen would have any contacts for you.
www.cashenblades.com
Have you posed this question on
www.hypefreeblades.com ?
We contacted them, and they were very useful and know what we're looking for, but we are currently awaiting some answers from them. Also, somehow couldn't get pass the questions for registration even though I'm certain they were probably correct...
I would look at suppliers of high tension wire and piano/music wire. While most is in the .85% to 1.00% range, they may have some in higher carbon.
I've looked over some of the wires they use, but couldn't find too many specifications about them other than the milder ones. Could you recommend some companies that may carry these cables?
http://www.bladeforums.com/threads/hitachi-steels.1448062/
Post #18.
C125W. Lower carbon than what you are looking for.
Hitachi white is a very nice steel, and would be perfect but they simply do not have a high enough carbon content...
You might want to know that a good bit of the Brooklyn Bridge still was sub-standard !! They scammed the bridge people !! A Brooklyn born and raised metallurgist like me , knows those things !!!
Vanadium was the 'magic ' ingredient in Wootz not folded steel ! Only when they included ALL the ingredients could they reproduce the famous Wootz. Wootz is a cast steel which is forged just right to get good stuff ! Then you get something on the order of CPM-3V !!
We are just doing some experimentation for now to observe the phase transformation of UHCS, and we are not looking to replicate any ancient steel, so the accuracy to the ancient steel is not our priority. Also, the CPM steels are highly alloyed and will probably serve as our last resort for now, but thanks for the information as we can test some CPM steels perhaps in a future study.
Mushet Steel
Have not heard of Mushet steel yet, but according to composition znives provides, it looks highly alloyed despite the high carbon content. Is this the one you are referring to?
http://zknives.com/knives/steels/mushet_steel.shtml
Achim Wirtz may have some C145 left.
Erik, how clean is that stuff compared to say White #1 or some of the B-U plain carbon steel? I know the "fun" steel that Achim makes himself is high and tight.
Very clean. Made with "reineisen", virginsteel.
Thanks for the interesting suggestion, but I can't seem to find much about C145... Does anyone know the composition of C145?
Also, do you guys know how to contact this Achim Wirtz person, since I don't think he has a website and I can't find the number anywhere online...
If you have a gas forge you could just forge weld carbon steel and cast steel. Diffusion will take care of omogenizing.
A more refined process, and more on the line of your experiment would be using a crucible and the correct charge.
Go google for J.L. Regel Ms
Unfortunately, currently we do not have a forge on-site, but we are looking at the possibility of obtaining one. But for now, we are just looking for any possibility to source the UHC steel rather than make them ourselves, but we can definitely take your suggestion should we decide to make our own. Thanks for the suggestion.
