Applied Science Hey thanks Ben! That means a lot coming from you! This test was not nearly as scientific as I'd like to be in the future... I'm mulling over ideas for an edge retention testing rig that would use my machining center as the motion control platform. Guide the knife through a wear medium and use a load cell to measure dulling over time. If you're ever interested in a steel testing collaboration that could be a lot of fun! Impact testing, heat-treating, edge retention testing, micrographs and so on!
Wow Man ! You were very thorough with these tests. That's a lot of time you put in there, I hope viewers realized that. You could have keept that information to yourself so thanks a ton for being kind enough to share, I think that makes you a great knife maker, both in skills and spirit !!
Thank you very much for this expensive test. Many people argue you don't use for this test all existing test but they don't imagine how much cost even a simple test as this in terms of money, materials and waste of precious time. Thank you very much!
This is why youtube is so great. Im so thankful that you documented your research. Its clear that you are a true professional. I would be thrilled to own one of your blades.
Amazing work and destruction tests kept in a scientific way as much as possible. Love the idea of doing it as a "blind study" to avoid the influence of your expectations on the performance of the different types of steel. All the best for your shop and your future endeavours. Cheers, mate!
this run of tests was simply amazing. It deserves utter respect to sacrifice so much time and means to know not only your profession better, but the materials as well, to provide the best product possible. Hats off, Aaron.
Hi, Its great to link up. I will forward some info about my trips to Canada, Cree and Ojibwa. Had a good look at your web site, will look at more RUclipss, only see two. I also note, there is a long wait, no problem. Take care, Stewart
If you want a steel that has a very easy heat-treatment process I would suggest having a look at 1084. When people say a steel is great, they generally mean "this steel is great with proper heat-treatment". Some steels can be quite complicated to heat-treat. 1095 is easy to heat-treat to get mediocre results, but getting the best out of it requires a bit of finesse from what I have heard. 1084 won't get you quite as good results, but it gives up it's best much more easily...
I understand completely mate! There process is very complicated when you get down to the nuts and bolts, I won't even pretend that I understand it all! If you get a recipe that works, either from someone else or through experimentation, then that is all you really need! A2 is expensive compared to 1095 (which is very inexpensive) there are steels that are much more expensive again like CPM154.
Phenomenal test - loved every minute of it. I have a question though: why don't you use "celebrity" steels like Elmax, S35VN, S90V, or M390? My guess is that material cost differences are pretty small compared to your labor, and your customers would love to get these steels.
I shared the testing and the results of the testing for a couple of reasons: 1) So that others in the knifemaking community could double-check my results and processes and make sure nothing was missed 2) So that other knifemakers could benefit from my testing 3) Because I believe that showing my customers the process and the sheer amount of work that goes into my knives is a better way of showing their value, as opposed to just claiming that they're "really good" or some such.
For example: the less tough steels like 440C would require thicker edges and beefier overall blade shapes in order to be as strong and durable as a thinner knife made from A2. Obviously a thinner knife is better, but in some conditions the rust-resistance of 440C would be a big advantage over A2. Each steel has it's place basically. For my Resolute knives I think A2 or CPM3V is the right choice, but for smaller knives that are likely to be exposed to sweat (like pocket knives) I'll use CPM154..
Basically every steel needs slightly different heat-treatment processes. Take a pudding and a waffle for example, both ate delicious sugary snacks, but if you swapped the recipes neither would likely turn out very well! A2 is a great steel for my knives. CPM3V would have worked well too. All of the steels I tested will make decent knives in fact, but the designs would have to be tweaked to match up to the capabilities of the steel...
Another thing to bear in mind is that hardness can really affect how fine of an edge the steel can take. I tested A2 at 64HRC, 62HRC 60HRC and 59HRC. 59HRC was the toughest, but the steel took a noticeably finer edge at 64HRC. it didn't seem to keep that edge any better than the softer steels when cutting rough materials though as it was likely micro-chipping... That kind of edge might be of use in light-duty situations though like razors or some kitchen knives.
Haven't tried it to be honest as I've mainly used it on my grinder. I've done some filing/sawing without the jig though and it seems to work about the same as O1, not sure I'd notice any difference unless I was going back and forth between two blades of the different metals. The main issue with A2 versus O1 is that you would need to send it out for heat-treat if you don't have a kiln.
Don't be turned off the other steels too much! After the testing once of my larger overall conclusions is that I could make a decent blade from most any of the steels, just my design would have to be tweaked for some of the less tough steels... If you're dealing with a maker that knows what they're doing then it's likely you'll get good results with any steel they care to give you! (the exception being some budget production knives which give up edge-holding for cheapness).
I can't conclusively say this is 'the best' heat-treat for O1, but it's the recipe I got the best results with during testing: Double coat in anti-scale (ATP-641 or ATP-304) Stress relieve: Ramp to 1200ºF, hold 2 hours, furnace cool to 900ºF, cool in still air to room temperature Preheat to 1200ºF, hold 10 minutes Ramp to 1470ºF, hold 30 minutes Quench into oil to ambient Sub-zero treatment in dry ice and isopropanol for 45 minutes Temper @ 400ºF, twice, 2hrs each time -> 59.7HRC
That's probably the least expensive steel to get started with. There are more details to the heat-treat if you want to get 'the best' results, it's worth a bit of research for sure. But from what I understand it's pretty hard to wrong with, so it's a good place to start! O1 is very forgiving as well, but more expensive. A2 requires you have a kiln or that you send it out for heat-treatment.
A2 is great! CPM3V is great too! O1 also has awesome performance, but definitely rusts more easily! If you're after an inexpensive steel that doesn't require much equipment to heat-treat then I would recommend looking at 1084 from 'New Jersey Steel Baron'. It costs as little as $10 for 4 feet of steel, and has .84% carbon which means to heat treat it you can simply heat it to dull red and then quench in oil or brine, while generally getting great performance!
Thanks! I think testing by anyone is valuable, but it's hard to do valid testing when you're using blades made by others, as they'll all have different blade geometries. I had the luxury of making the blades myself and being able to make them identical! In the future I need to work out more repeatable ways of doing all the tests, then perhaps I'll test a wider range of steels...
Most steels can be honed to that state if you're using the right abrasives. Carbide-heavy steels like D2 need abrasives that can cut the carbides (like diamond). Regular waterstones aren't generally able to cut the carbides which leads to them leaving a very toothy edge. Steels with finder carbides like A2 should need any special treatment...
If you want to forge the blade to shape then having a forge is definitely worth it. If you just want to use a forge for making 'flat' stock to then use in the filing jig, I would just but the steel instead... Buying it you will get actually flat steel of a known type rather than 'car spring' or 'bearing race'...
I didn't get the chance to test 1095 yet. I was somewhat time constrained as I need to get back to making knives that won't be broken! My guess is that with the right heat-treatment 1095 would hold up very well. Being a plain carbon steel it will have a very fine carbide structure and will be very tough. I certainly liked it well enough in the KaBar that I used to own!
Me too man! CPM3V threw quite a lot of high energy shrapnel when it failed it both the tests... That's one of the reasons why I'm going with A2 instead for my knives. Also the CPM3V did bend further before breaking, but it was plasticly deforming (ie: it didn't spring back) whereas A2 bent less far, but ended up still being perfectly straight after it broke...
The steel that I'm using in combination with the foil is not actually O1, it will be an air-hardening steel like A2... That eliminates the need for oil, as well as the need to remove it from the foil package. Have you seen the video on my channel that covers how to heat-treat O1? -Aaron
Hey mate! The stainless foil came from the website: knifemaker . ca The anti-scale compound came from Brownells: brownells . com I'm at the point where I would no longer really recommend the anti-scale compound though unfortunately. I keeping having decarburization issues with it. -Aaron
Comments have to be approved, so they don't show up until I've had a chance to approve them. CPM154 did ok, it's not as tough as some of the others but if you need a stainless blade it's a good option. Check out the links in the video description for more info.
Thanks! To be honest I don't think any of the steels tested were substandard, although some of the heat-treats I tried weren't very good. The steels tested were: 01, 440C, CPM154, CPM3V and A2. Have a look in the video description for links to the results in much more detail.
I didn't get the chance to test 1095 unfortunately. It should be very tough, but it requires a careful heat-treatment. If you want a steel that requires the least careful heat-treatment then using 1084 would be the way to go... I've never used 1095 but I imagine it should be fine as well!
To be clear I don't consider this testing to be the 'last word' on these steels, but hopefully the testing provides a useful datapoint for others! The testing was good fun, and getting to do something I love (making knives, as well as other stuff) really is it's own reward! Thanks for the well wishes!
I order steel from a number of places, but 'Jantz Supply' has a very good selection. Using files only I can rough out the bevels for a 4" blade in about 1-1/2 hours... Then it takes a couple of hours to sand away the file marks...
That was what I figured from your original question. O1 is pretty forgiving in heat-treat if you want a knife that won't see much abuse. If you want ultimate toughness with home-style heat-treatment then a spring steel like 1084 is probably your best bet.
I don't believe so unfortunately. I was only using the bench grinder to do the outline of the blades. I would recommend making the filing jig that I show in another video on my channel if you're just getting started and want to make great bevels!
Thanks! All the blades were sub-zero treated, and as I understand it Cryo does not make the blades tougher... In fact it might make them less tough because of the carbide precipitation that it encourages...
Absolutely! If you have a look in the video description there is a link to the thread on BladeForums that covers all of the heat-treatments used, as well as going into more detail about the results themselves.
That knife is actually one of my standard models now. It's USD$300 plus shipping. First GenII versions will be going out to customers soon. Check out my website for more info: goughcustom . com
No need to apologize! That testing was not in the video as it was hard to convey in video form. If I plan it out then I might be able to do a timelapse or something of that in the future....
No worries mate! I wouldn't use the dremel for that personally, I think you'll find a decent hacksaw is inexpensive and much faster! I'm sure you'll do fine making the jig, just take your time!
Rather than water submersion I did water spray.. There needs to be both air and moisture to encourage rust, so the steels would likely do better when fully submerged!
Thanks! Unfortunately A2 is quite a lot harder to heat-treat than O1. It's not that much more complicated but you pretty much have to use a kiln to do it properly...
There's not really an easy way to heat-treat A2 unfortunately. It really does require a kiln... You can always just send it out to be heat-treated though!
Yeah I know what you mean. At least in this case the knives were specifically made for testing, rather than destroying a bunch of nice finished knives!
Subscribed! Where are you ordering your steel from? Do you use any belt sanders? Ive been dabbling in knife making. Made 2 out if A2. I want to go fruther but can't spend a couple thousand on a grinder. What's your turn around time using files?
To be perfectly honest though I basically never hone my edges to that point, as I generally want a bit of a toothy edge for normal use, so it's somewhat of a moot point for me and something that I didn't test for in my testing, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt for sure! I meant to say in my last comment that 'steels with fine carbides, like A2, should *not* need any special treatment'. Regular waterstones should be able to get hair-splitting edges with no worries.
Thanks! The steels I tested were: CPM3V, A2, O1, CPM154 & 440C. If you have a look in the video description there is a link to more info about the testing, including all of the heat-treatment information etc...
Hey mate! Thanks for stopping in! If you have a look in the video description there are links to the thread on BladeForums that go into detail about the heat-treatments used. It's a bit long to do on the comments here! :D
I actually already did that! I didn't include it in the video as it's kind of hard to convey, but if you go through the threads linked in the description you'll see it. Basically it boils down to: Corrosion resistance: Best: 440C CPM154 CPM3V A2 O1 Worst: The difference between A2 and O1 was pretty big, and again the difference between A2 and CPM3V was fairly small.
Thanks! It taught me a lot and I'm a lot less hesitant to think about experimenting with different steels now. I'm also now acutely aware of which parts of the blade geometry need special attention (tip profile and thickness definitely being one!)
Each steel was tested at 2 or more different hardnesses. I tried to optimize the hardness to the steel overall. The blade shape, stock thickness and overall geometry was the same for each knife. The stock thickness was 5/32" (4mm). If you have a look in the video description there are links to the testing threads on BladeForums, there's a lot more detailed info in there about the specific heat-treatments I used for each one, and what the hardness of each blade was.
No worries! Glad you liked it! All my knives have secondary bevels, I just may not have shown that part in my other videos. I do tend to get excited when it's time to sharpen up a knife for the first time! The tool I'm using in the video for sharpening is called a 'Lansky Sharpener'. They work well and are quite inexpensive. There are some tricks to using them though, I'm planning on doing a video about it soon.
The kiln is amazing. It's great being able to exactly control the heat-treatment. The grinder has been a steeper learning curve than I thought, still getting the hang of that one!
Wow man that's a shitload of work. Thanks for this info.
No worries at all mate!
Nicely done! Thanks for all of your hard work that went into this test.
Applied Science Hey thanks Ben! That means a lot coming from you!
This test was not nearly as scientific as I'd like to be in the future... I'm mulling over ideas for an edge retention testing rig that would use my machining center as the motion control platform. Guide the knife through a wear medium and use a load cell to measure dulling over time.
If you're ever interested in a steel testing collaboration that could be a lot of fun! Impact testing, heat-treating, edge retention testing, micrographs and so on!
hats off to you for all the hard work! very cool to watch!!
+Rob Chesley Thanks Rob!
Wow Man ! You were very thorough with these tests. That's a lot of time you put in there, I hope viewers realized that. You could have keept that information to yourself so thanks a ton for being kind enough to share, I think that makes you a great knife maker, both in skills and spirit !!
Glad you liked it!
Thank you very much for this expensive test. Many people argue you don't use for this test all existing test but they don't imagine how much cost even a simple test as this in terms of money, materials and waste of precious time. Thank you very much!
No worries mate!
Excellent video and very helpful. Enjoying your videos and looking forward to more.
+The Homestead Craftsman Thanks very much mate!
Gough Custom Very interesting video, also extremely helpful, thank you for taking the time to make this, not a cheap process, so again thank you.
This is why youtube is so great. Im so thankful that you documented your research. Its clear that you are a true professional. I would be thrilled to own one of your blades.
Thanks mate! More testing coming early next year!
Amazing work and destruction tests kept in a scientific way as much as possible. Love the idea of doing it as a "blind study" to avoid the influence of your expectations on the performance of the different types of steel. All the best for your shop and your future endeavours. Cheers, mate!
this run of tests was simply amazing. It deserves utter respect to sacrifice so much time and means to know not only your profession better, but the materials as well, to provide the best product possible. Hats off, Aaron.
Thanks mate!
You have the mind of an engineer. Great ideas and good initiative on finding a way to somehow improve your work. Brilliant
Thanks!
What an amazing, positive test. I know where I will come for a tough knife.
Thanks mate!
Hi, Its great to link up. I will forward some info about my trips to Canada, Cree and Ojibwa. Had a good look at your web site, will look at more RUclipss, only see two. I also note, there is a long wait, no problem. Take care, Stewart
If you want a steel that has a very easy heat-treatment process I would suggest having a look at 1084.
When people say a steel is great, they generally mean "this steel is great with proper heat-treatment". Some steels can be quite complicated to heat-treat. 1095 is easy to heat-treat to get mediocre results, but getting the best out of it requires a bit of finesse from what I have heard. 1084 won't get you quite as good results, but it gives up it's best much more easily...
Great to see people still putting so much effort and attention to their videos , truely fun to watch
Thanks very much mate!
I understand completely mate! There process is very complicated when you get down to the nuts and bolts, I won't even pretend that I understand it all! If you get a recipe that works, either from someone else or through experimentation, then that is all you really need!
A2 is expensive compared to 1095 (which is very inexpensive) there are steels that are much more expensive again like CPM154.
Phenomenal test - loved every minute of it. I have a question though: why don't you use "celebrity" steels like Elmax, S35VN, S90V, or M390? My guess is that material cost differences are pretty small compared to your labor, and your customers would love to get these steels.
Yea. I would love love to see how those steels as well as cts xhp would do.
i saw someone beat on a large elmax knife here, surprisingly tough
His knives are survivalist oriented. Stainless steels like m390 and s90v, while great, aren't nearly tough enough.
I shared the testing and the results of the testing for a couple of reasons:
1) So that others in the knifemaking community could double-check my results and processes and make sure nothing was missed
2) So that other knifemakers could benefit from my testing
3) Because I believe that showing my customers the process and the sheer amount of work that goes into my knives is a better way of showing their value, as opposed to just claiming that they're "really good" or some such.
Amazing tests, I would give myself a heart attack if I did the pinchbar test on any knife!
Thanks James! Destroying knives is actually pretty fun once you get over the terror :)
For example: the less tough steels like 440C would require thicker edges and beefier overall blade shapes in order to be as strong and durable as a thinner knife made from A2. Obviously a thinner knife is better, but in some conditions the rust-resistance of 440C would be a big advantage over A2.
Each steel has it's place basically. For my Resolute knives I think A2 or CPM3V is the right choice, but for smaller knives that are likely to be exposed to sweat (like pocket knives) I'll use CPM154..
Thank you for the honest and very valuable testing!! the best blade steel test I have ever seen so far.
Thanks for watching!
Basically every steel needs slightly different heat-treatment processes. Take a pudding and a waffle for example, both ate delicious sugary snacks, but if you swapped the recipes neither would likely turn out very well!
A2 is a great steel for my knives. CPM3V would have worked well too. All of the steels I tested will make decent knives in fact, but the designs would have to be tweaked to match up to the capabilities of the steel...
CPM S35VN Stainless Steel.
yes...
Another thing to bear in mind is that hardness can really affect how fine of an edge the steel can take. I tested A2 at 64HRC, 62HRC 60HRC and 59HRC. 59HRC was the toughest, but the steel took a noticeably finer edge at 64HRC. it didn't seem to keep that edge any better than the softer steels when cutting rough materials though as it was likely micro-chipping... That kind of edge might be of use in light-duty situations though like razors or some kitchen knives.
Haven't tried it to be honest as I've mainly used it on my grinder. I've done some filing/sawing without the jig though and it seems to work about the same as O1, not sure I'd notice any difference unless I was going back and forth between two blades of the different metals.
The main issue with A2 versus O1 is that you would need to send it out for heat-treat if you don't have a kiln.
Don't be turned off the other steels too much! After the testing once of my larger overall conclusions is that I could make a decent blade from most any of the steels, just my design would have to be tweaked for some of the less tough steels... If you're dealing with a maker that knows what they're doing then it's likely you'll get good results with any steel they care to give you! (the exception being some budget production knives which give up edge-holding for cheapness).
I can't conclusively say this is 'the best' heat-treat for O1, but it's the recipe I got the best results with during testing:
Double coat in anti-scale (ATP-641 or ATP-304)
Stress relieve: Ramp to 1200ºF, hold 2 hours, furnace cool to 900ºF, cool in still air to room temperature
Preheat to 1200ºF, hold 10 minutes
Ramp to 1470ºF, hold 30 minutes
Quench into oil to ambient
Sub-zero treatment in dry ice and isopropanol for 45 minutes
Temper @ 400ºF, twice, 2hrs each time -> 59.7HRC
That's probably the least expensive steel to get started with.
There are more details to the heat-treat if you want to get 'the best' results, it's worth a bit of research for sure. But from what I understand it's pretty hard to wrong with, so it's a good place to start!
O1 is very forgiving as well, but more expensive. A2 requires you have a kiln or that you send it out for heat-treatment.
A2 is great! CPM3V is great too! O1 also has awesome performance, but definitely rusts more easily!
If you're after an inexpensive steel that doesn't require much equipment to heat-treat then I would recommend looking at 1084 from 'New Jersey Steel Baron'. It costs as little as $10 for 4 feet of steel, and has .84% carbon which means to heat treat it you can simply heat it to dull red and then quench in oil or brine, while generally getting great performance!
Thanks! I think testing by anyone is valuable, but it's hard to do valid testing when you're using blades made by others, as they'll all have different blade geometries. I had the luxury of making the blades myself and being able to make them identical!
In the future I need to work out more repeatable ways of doing all the tests, then perhaps I'll test a wider range of steels...
Most steels can be honed to that state if you're using the right abrasives. Carbide-heavy steels like D2 need abrasives that can cut the carbides (like diamond). Regular waterstones aren't generally able to cut the carbides which leads to them leaving a very toothy edge.
Steels with finder carbides like A2 should need any special treatment...
If you want to forge the blade to shape then having a forge is definitely worth it. If you just want to use a forge for making 'flat' stock to then use in the filing jig, I would just but the steel instead... Buying it you will get actually flat steel of a known type rather than 'car spring' or 'bearing race'...
I didn't get the chance to test 1095 yet. I was somewhat time constrained as I need to get back to making knives that won't be broken!
My guess is that with the right heat-treatment 1095 would hold up very well. Being a plain carbon steel it will have a very fine carbide structure and will be very tough. I certainly liked it well enough in the KaBar that I used to own!
Me too man! CPM3V threw quite a lot of high energy shrapnel when it failed it both the tests... That's one of the reasons why I'm going with A2 instead for my knives. Also the CPM3V did bend further before breaking, but it was plasticly deforming (ie: it didn't spring back) whereas A2 bent less far, but ended up still being perfectly straight after it broke...
The steel that I'm using in combination with the foil is not actually O1, it will be an air-hardening steel like A2... That eliminates the need for oil, as well as the need to remove it from the foil package.
Have you seen the video on my channel that covers how to heat-treat O1?
-Aaron
Hey mate!
The stainless foil came from the website: knifemaker . ca
The anti-scale compound came from Brownells: brownells . com
I'm at the point where I would no longer really recommend the anti-scale compound though unfortunately. I keeping having decarburization issues with it.
-Aaron
Comments have to be approved, so they don't show up until I've had a chance to approve them. CPM154 did ok, it's not as tough as some of the others but if you need a stainless blade it's a good option.
Check out the links in the video description for more info.
Thanks! To be honest I don't think any of the steels tested were substandard, although some of the heat-treats I tried weren't very good. The steels tested were: 01, 440C, CPM154, CPM3V and A2.
Have a look in the video description for links to the results in much more detail.
I didn't get the chance to test 1095 unfortunately. It should be very tough, but it requires a careful heat-treatment. If you want a steel that requires the least careful heat-treatment then using 1084 would be the way to go... I've never used 1095 but I imagine it should be fine as well!
To be clear I don't consider this testing to be the 'last word' on these steels, but hopefully the testing provides a useful datapoint for others!
The testing was good fun, and getting to do something I love (making knives, as well as other stuff) really is it's own reward!
Thanks for the well wishes!
I order steel from a number of places, but 'Jantz Supply' has a very good selection.
Using files only I can rough out the bevels for a 4" blade in about 1-1/2 hours... Then it takes a couple of hours to sand away the file marks...
That was what I figured from your original question. O1 is pretty forgiving in heat-treat if you want a knife that won't see much abuse. If you want ultimate toughness with home-style heat-treatment then a spring steel like 1084 is probably your best bet.
I don't believe so unfortunately. I was only using the bench grinder to do the outline of the blades. I would recommend making the filing jig that I show in another video on my channel if you're just getting started and want to make great bevels!
Thanks! All the blades were sub-zero treated, and as I understand it Cryo does not make the blades tougher... In fact it might make them less tough because of the carbide precipitation that it encourages...
Absolutely! If you have a look in the video description there is a link to the thread on BladeForums that covers all of the heat-treatments used, as well as going into more detail about the results themselves.
That knife is actually one of my standard models now. It's USD$300 plus shipping. First GenII versions will be going out to customers soon. Check out my website for more info: goughcustom . com
No need to apologize! That testing was not in the video as it was hard to convey in video form. If I plan it out then I might be able to do a timelapse or something of that in the future....
No worries mate! I wouldn't use the dremel for that personally, I think you'll find a decent hacksaw is inexpensive and much faster!
I'm sure you'll do fine making the jig, just take your time!
Rather than water submersion I did water spray.. There needs to be both air and moisture to encourage rust, so the steels would likely do better when fully submerged!
Thanks! Unfortunately A2 is quite a lot harder to heat-treat than O1. It's not that much more complicated but you pretty much have to use a kiln to do it properly...
There's not really an easy way to heat-treat A2 unfortunately. It really does require a kiln... You can always just send it out to be heat-treated though!
Nope, they weren't destroyed in vain at all! Don't worry, some of them were kinda ugly as I am still learning to use the new belt grinder :D
Quite a while at the moment unfortunately. Definitely more that 40 weeks... Get in touch if you're interested! aaron @ goughcustom . com
No worries! I actually have another video on my channel that shows how to make a filing jig just like mine! Not sure if you've seen it?
I should be able to ship pretty much anywhere. You just have to make sure that importing knives is not illegal in your country.
Thanks! I will actually admit that I take a kind of perverse pleasure in destroying them, not sure why but it's kind of fun...
If you don't have a kiln you'll likely have to send O1 out to a heat-treating place if you want the very best results.
Are the links not working for you? I just checked them and they work fine if I click on them...
All up I tested 01, A2, CPM154, CPM3V & 440C... Check the video description for more info.
Yep! There are links in the video description to the testing threads on BladeForums
Go for it mate! I have some other videos on my channel that will help you out!
We should make all the lightbulbs flicker! Halloween is coming up... Hmm.
I didn't get the chance to test it, maybe in the future!
Thanks mate! It's exciting to start your first knife eh!
I'm based in Canada. My website is: goughcustom . com
Yeah, that light bulb had one job! And it failed...
*Sigh* I know it's for a good cause, but I truly hate watching knife abuse. Thanks for doing the dirty work so that we won't have to Gough!
Yeah I know what you mean. At least in this case the knives were specifically made for testing, rather than destroying a bunch of nice finished knives!
Good questions! I hope my answers all made sense!
Thanks! I do have a website: goughcustom . com
Thanks mate! More videos to come for sure.
No worries mate! Hope it helps!
Subscribed! Where are you ordering your steel from? Do you use any belt sanders? Ive been dabbling in knife making. Made 2 out if A2. I want to go fruther but can't spend a couple thousand on a grinder. What's your turn around time using files?
To be perfectly honest though I basically never hone my edges to that point, as I generally want a bit of a toothy edge for normal use, so it's somewhat of a moot point for me and something that I didn't test for in my testing, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt for sure!
I meant to say in my last comment that 'steels with fine carbides, like A2, should *not* need any special treatment'. Regular waterstones should be able to get hair-splitting edges with no worries.
Thanks! The steels I tested were: CPM3V, A2, O1, CPM154 & 440C.
If you have a look in the video description there is a link to more info about the testing, including all of the heat-treatment information etc...
Hey mate! Thanks for stopping in!
If you have a look in the video description there are links to the thread on BladeForums that go into detail about the heat-treatments used. It's a bit long to do on the comments here! :D
I actually already did that! I didn't include it in the video as it's kind of hard to convey, but if you go through the threads linked in the description you'll see it.
Basically it boils down to:
Corrosion resistance:
Best:
440C
CPM154
CPM3V
A2
O1
Worst:
The difference between A2 and O1 was pretty big, and again the difference between A2 and CPM3V was fairly small.
WOW!!! Great thanks from Russian Knife Community.
Thanks! Glad you like the video!
No worries! Best of luck!
Thanks! It taught me a lot and I'm a lot less hesitant to think about experimenting with different steels now. I'm also now acutely aware of which parts of the blade geometry need special attention (tip profile and thickness definitely being one!)
Each steel was tested at 2 or more different hardnesses. I tried to optimize the hardness to the steel overall. The blade shape, stock thickness and overall geometry was the same for each knife. The stock thickness was 5/32" (4mm).
If you have a look in the video description there are links to the testing threads on BladeForums, there's a lot more detailed info in there about the specific heat-treatments I used for each one, and what the hardness of each blade was.
Thanks for watching!
I wouldn't mind an itty bitty vacuum furnace in my shop :D
Molten salt is interesting too, seems dangerous though!
In Toronto, Canada.
Sure was! I'm very much looking forward to getting back to making knives that aren't just going to be broken in half...
No worries! It was the first video I've made with my new camera, really liking it so far as the footage is much crisper!
Sorry mate... :D
No worries! Glad you liked it!
All my knives have secondary bevels, I just may not have shown that part in my other videos. I do tend to get excited when it's time to sharpen up a knife for the first time!
The tool I'm using in the video for sharpening is called a 'Lansky Sharpener'. They work well and are quite inexpensive. There are some tricks to using them though, I'm planning on doing a video about it soon.
Thanks! I did my best, there are always going minor differences between the blades but I did what I could to minimize them...
The test blades are all sitting in one of my draws at the shop, ready to be used as comparisons for future testing if need be!
Cheers mate!
Thanks mate!
No worries!
The kiln is amazing. It's great being able to exactly control the heat-treatment. The grinder has been a steeper learning curve than I thought, still getting the hang of that one!
Well since you're using A2 steel now if you have any of those old crappy o1 lying around Ill take 1 just to help you get rid of'em lol
Thanks!
Thanks!
Cheers!
Thanks!
Cheers!
Thanks!
Thanks!
Thanks!