Your thoughts on W2 tool steel

comet_sharp said:
My friend works at a foundary and tested 2 coupons for me from different stock thickness, all cut directly off annealed bar from vendor. One test .75%C and the other tested .85%C. Also had between .05-.1% Cu(wtf) and .35% Mn or so. The bars that tested under .8%C actually fall out of the AISI spec for W2.
-Trey
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So this is why some people on Facebook are using temps closer to 1500f ratherthan the 1450-1460f commonly used with real W2.

Disappointing.
 
viral said:
I don’t use W2 very often. But I have used it throughout the last 5 years intermittently. I have kept thorough notes on HTing steel and my recipe for W2 has not changed at all over the past 5 years. I recently bought a bar from NJSB and I cannot get it to consistently harden. I have five years of successful heat treats and now all of a sudden I can’t harden it at all. I can’t even get it to through harden with water. The steel seems bunk. Tread lightly.
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Strange that this keeps coming up, but doesn’t seem to have the impact it should.
 
Kentucky said:
Probably because it’s the only game in town. Just a guess
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You mean as far as the w2 supply I’m sure.
I wish we could get a melt of some known w2 with certs, but I’m finding that to be a tall order if not impossible.
I have gone the w1 route as you suggested but I don’t know what people that don’t forge will do.
 
Not having a good day!! Learned my W2 is inconsistent at best and may contain additional non-specified elements and that my Evenheat is probably messing up the HT by a couple of hundred degrees...
 
Josh Rider said:
You mean as far as the w2 supply I’m sure.
I wish we could get a melt of some known w2 with certs, but I’m finding that to be a tall order if not impossible.
I have gone the w1 route as you suggested but I don’t know what people that don’t forge will do.
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Yea that’s what meant, supply. It’s hard to get anything out of many large steel suppliers because they just don’t cater to small timers like us that don’t order tons at a time.
 
I know John Gulso (kuraki) was looking into the possibility of a melt. I don’t know where he’s at on it, but I’d love to be in on a group buy if it ever comes to be.

Edit: nevermind, the melt is too cost prohibitive.
 
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Josh Rider said:
You mean as far as the w2 supply I’m sure.
I wish we could get a melt of some known w2 with certs, but I’m finding that to be a tall order if not impossible.
I have gone the w1 route as you suggested but I don’t know what people that don’t forge will do.
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Its easy to get 1095 with certs as well. I think all the trace Cr from recycling hinders hamon activity a touch, W1 is a better solution but I hate hand forging drill rod. I just tried a sample of Achim Wirtz sc125 and it took a beautiful hamon with his suggested HT but it is also in limited supply and size.
-Trey
 
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Carterwhopkins said:
Not having a good day!! Learned my W2 is inconsistent at best and may contain additional non-specified elements and that my Evenheat is probably messing up the HT by a couple of hundred degrees...
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I suggest tossing the steel, it hurts to see it but I have a pile you cannot pay me to touch.
Also suggest looking into a heat treat drum furnance, very inexpensive means for good heat control if you do a lot of carbon steel. I cannot praise mine enough. I also suggest making satanite or steel cups and testing for hot spots by melting salt, it should begin melting at 1474/475 pending mineral content.
-Trey
 
Kentucky said:
Probably because it’s the only game in town. Just a guess
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I suspect a lot of people won’t realize there is a problem. The last hammer in I was at, only five people attended Kevin Cashen’s talk on metallurgy and heat treat. There were over 200 people there. I overheard other smiths talking about the nerds overthinking heat treat, where getting it red, and dunking it works perfectly fine. These guys would never know there was a problem with the steel.
 
comet_sharp said:
I suggest tossing the steel, it hurts to see it but I have a pile you cannot pay me to touch.
Also suggest looking into a heat treat drum furnance, very inexpensive means for good heat control if you do a lot of carbon steel. I cannot praise mine enough. I also suggest making satanite or steel cups and testing for hot spots by melting salt, it should begin melting at 1474/475 pending mineral content.
-Trey
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I don’t want to derail anything...but am curious about your drum heat treat furnace? Any suggestions to see what it is exactly?

I just ordered some 1075 to try out for some hamons. Guess we’ll see how well it goes.

Jeremy
 
I had difficulty with NJSB 1075 as well as their w2.
We really need to be demanding certs from the vendors! How else are we going to keep track when something goes wrong. I only do this on a hobby/part time level, I can only imagine if I spent the money some of you guys do. I have had problems with w2, 1075, and cpm 3v. The 3v I honestly think was the wrong steel sent to me. I have no cert to verify and check.
What’s so difficult about asking for a cert from our suppliers? It should be no problem for them to give us one.
Matt Gregory just posted about this very issue.
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/thoughts-on-buying-steel.1626738/
 
Josh Rider said:
I had difficulty with NJSB 1075 as well as their w2.
We really need to be demanding certs from the vendors! How else are we going to keep track when something goes wrong. I only do this on a hobby/part time level, I can only imagine if I spent the money some of you guys do. I have had problems with w2, 1075, and cpm 3v. The 3v I honestly think was the wrong steel sent to me. I have no cert to verify and check.
What’s so difficult about asking for a cert from our suppliers? It should be no problem for them to give us one.
Matt Gregory just posted about this very issue.
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/thoughts-on-buying-steel.1626738/
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Admiral will supply certs actually. My friend orders sheets of their HR 1095 at his workplace and they keep certs with heat #s from every batch. He showed me certs from recently and 4 years ago and it is very consistent.
-Trey
 
Willie71 said:
I suspect a lot of people won’t realize there is a problem. The last hammer in I was at, only five people attended Kevin Cashen’s talk on metallurgy and heat treat. There were over 200 people there. I overheard other smiths talking about the nerds overthinking heat treat, where getting it red, and dunking it works perfectly fine. These guys would never know there was a problem with the steel.
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Now that’s a tragedy. I’d skip everything else to attend that one
 
Hamons, hamons are the most addicting, rewarding, and frustrating things ive figured out so far in knife making( next to sharpening)! Im glad not to be alone in liking this simple steel.
 
gudspelr said:
I don’t want to derail anything...but am curious about your drum heat treat furnace? Any suggestions to see what it is exactly?

I just ordered some 1075 to try out for some hamons. Guess we’ll see how well it goes.

Jeremy
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I got the plans to build mine from another member here who seems to have been mentioned already, kuraki.
Essentially a 55 gallon drum with a 2x2 opening in the bottom side and top. Barrel lined with koawool and sealed with satanite (i used 2 layers of 1" koawool and 20lbs of satanite). Burner in the bottom, pipe burner or venturi burner of any kind really. Next to my top port i have a 12" long thermocouple probe in ceramic pants, blade goes in top next to probe. I also have 2 hard firebricks inside to diffuse the flame. I believe this is a plan on a Don Fogg drum.
Uses little gas, easy to tune, works well.
-Trey
 
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