Swords made in s30v or other high quality steels?

J

James0723

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Mar 25, 2009
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I've been browsing around the internet looking for swords but I've not been able to find any in high quality steels. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
 
Properly heat treated 1055 is good quality steel for swords(except for some katanas which can get exotic), you don't want a brittle stainless on a long blade that will snap and hit you in the eye. :) Stainless is crap for swords.
 
Even if steels like s30v good for smaller knives are too brittle for swords, isn't there some better steel for them than 1055?

I'm sure there's nothing wrong with 1055 and companies like Cold Steel put out good, functional products, but what are the swords that are the next step(s) up from the swords companies like Cold Steel sell?
 
You can not beat properly heat treated carbon steel . Damascus or wootz is also fantastic but as always stainless is not suitable for swords in my opinion
 
Rat Waki!!! SR-101 (52100??)

A2 is good too, Regardless of the steel the most important thing is the Heat treat.

Even with INFI or SR101 if you mess up the heat treat the blade is no good.
 
Do a little research on sword steels (CAS Iberia is a good place to start for info). There are many different types of carbon steels out there that are used for swords. So far, everyone else is right on the money. Stainless, no matter how 'super' it is, is not good for swords...unless they are just made to hang on a wall. Pretty much any good carbon steel can make a good sword, depending on construction (folding, layering, forging, etc.) and heat treat.
 
What about 5160 ? Is it not a good steel for swords? superior to 1055.
I'd like to hear opinions.
 
i'd guess 5160 is vastly superior to any straight carbon for swords. i've used it myself... can't find charpy numbers on it, but...

if A2 is tough enough then so is s30v, and 3v vastly more so. imho A2 is not tough enough for a "bush rated" sword i.e. one which will withstand full impact strikes on wood, cars, large animals...
but i also have used ats-34 (rc 60) 440c (rc 58) on swords that see use on green wood or seasoned softwoods, also road killed deer... heat treat bang on is essential, design compromises also

many swords are available in expensive alloys like s7, cpm anything

folded steels are silly... if they were better than powder or sprayform or even conventional rolled billet we'd see them on spacecraft but we don't

if you are worried about a piece of your sword breaking off and hitting you then get kevlar laminated to the sides... pieces will stay together like on a windshield... just get it laminated right so it doesn't fall off, no big deal

s5 is toughest of all fully hardenable tool steels...
 
9260 is a low alloy steel (read "cheaper") that is similar to S5. CPM 3V is supposed to be very good. I had a 440A stainless blade come apart in my hands. To be fair, it had endured a tremendous beating for about 3 years in my teenage hands. Any steel rated as a spring steel could work, given proper heat treatment.
 
Check out the offerings from Cheness, Kris Cutlery, Paul Chen/Hanwei, and Dynasty Forge.
 
wnease said:
folded steels are silly...
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That must be why nobody has used folded steel in the last thousand years. Wait a minute. They still do??? Even master sword makers??? Someone should tell them they're doing it wrong.

I apologize for the condescension. I just think there is no basis for this remark. Folded steels have been used in sword making for centuries, so there must be something to it. Maybe, just maybe, they aren't 'used on spacecraft' because that seems like it would be quite pricey. Just my two cents.
 
J. Davey I agree with you, and so do many top metallurgists and swordsman!!
 
Folded steel had its place in bladesmithing. It homogenized any flaws in the steel, meaning less chance of having one large, crippling defect in the blade.

Now, with modern smelting techniques, monosteels are clean and consistent in quality. The only reasons that folding is still seen are aesthetics and tradition.
 
5160 is hard to beat in a sword. The heat treat is the real key to the process though. I would take 1050 well heat treated over any fancy steel.
 
monosteels are clean and consistent in quality
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That is true, however according to the metallurgists that I have spoken to, who have studied swords, that is not the whole answer, nor is the heat treat on modern modern steel the whole answer.
They gave me all the technical reasons in technical language, but in short, they still felt that the whole process that goes into making a Japanese made made it a better sword than modern mono swords of high quality.
Don't ask me to explain the technical jargan I can't, but that is the jist of it.
 
wnease said:
if you are worried about a piece of your sword breaking off and hitting you then get kevlar laminated to the sides... pieces will stay together like on a windshield... just get it laminated right so it doesn't fall off, no big deal
Click to expand...

What in the name of the seven Hells are you talking about?:confused:
 
stabman said:
What in the name of the seven Hells are you talking about?:confused:
Click to expand...

Perhaps his fascination with modern super materials has carried over far enough that he sees kevlar as a substitute for laminating a hardened piece of steel into a softer piece for shock absorption purposes.

Barring that, I have absolutely no idea where the kevlar laminate idea comes from. If it was the hot ticket, it would already be in use.

Chuck
 
Interesting thread.

I assume that makers exist that would make swords in any alloy you wished.

Considering the use of swords (slice, chop) edge retention should be secondary to toughness.

It would be unwise to dismiss the musings of Wnease when it comes to discussion of high tech material and sword construction. I seem to recall a Wnease sword capable of chopping an apple juice can... vertically.

Have you laminated Kevlar to a full sized blade Wnease? Does the toughness exibited in kevlar laminated knives carry over to larger blades?
 
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