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Post by Sir Tre on Oct 8, 2010 2:53:06 GMT
There has been much talk on the old forum about why is is bad to have a sword made of stainless steel, even if HT and full tang. here is a good picture of exactly why you should not have one. When a sword is stuck with another, it is metal on metal. I have a gerber, that is HT and full tang that i use for a tool. I have beat on it a few times with a hammer th notch a board like a wood chisel. Well tonight I was using it as such and look what happened with HT carbon steel hammer striking a a stainless steel HT blade.  I realize that this is the Beginner forum, and this might belong somewhere else. But I felt that a beginner to swords needs to see why not to have a stainless steel blade. When we get a safety page and all, mods please move this there. |
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Oct 8, 2010 2:56:09 GMT
An excellent demonstration, Tre. I know all swords will break if put under enough stress, but nothing quite gets the point across as to why Stainless is usually a bad choice than a broken blade.
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TomK
Member
Senior Forumite
Posts: 2,377
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Post by TomK on Oct 8, 2010 3:01:22 GMT
ummmmmmmm. . . you beat on it with a hammer?
I'm not surprised it broke, that's what hardened steel does when beaten with a hammer.
I know it is a knife and all that but I wonder if a hardened carbon steel blade would have survived.
I think the lesson here is: don't beat your blades with a hammer, that's what wood chisels are for.
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Post by rvhernandez on Oct 8, 2010 3:25:00 GMT
I appreciate your point Sir Tre but I think Tom K also has a point. Any tool used in a manner not intended will mess up. For e.g., if I decide to take a really nice, expensive gourmet kitchen knife and use it to chisel away at something - banging it with a hammer no less - when it breaks, does that make it a bad kitchen knife?
BTW: not all stainless steels are the same. There is 440C stainless steel which makes for some awesome short-medium size knives. I have a few and they are quite good and rugged within the limits they are intended for. However, as good as they are, I would never think of using one to carve out a replica of the statue of David.
Cheers and, again, thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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Post by Sir Tre on Oct 8, 2010 3:44:04 GMT
well Tom, I would have to say that you are absolutely correct.. proper tool for the job and all. I do know that I had used a 1095 carbon steel bowie like this many times back in the days, but the only reason that i dont have it any more. Also i reckon the old difference in hardened and tempered could make serious difference. however i wasnt beating on it hard. it amazed me how easily this broke.
I just thought that it would be a good demonstration of how brittle stainless is and all. thanks again.
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Post by Hyoujinsama on Oct 8, 2010 7:15:21 GMT
The thing about stainless, many companies that produce stainless steel knives do not do much in the way of heat treating. There is a good reason for this, too.
Where most carbon steels like 1050, 1075, etc. reach critical temperature at right around 1500°F, 440C doesn't reach critical temperature until closer to 2000°F. The steel HAS to be heated in an inert atmosphere or a vacuum (since scale at that temperature can cause a lot of material loss in the end as opposed to the lower temperatures of other steels), then has to be brought down in a quench very quickly. Some companies that harden stainless will actually quench their steel with nitrogen gas.
So, more often than not, the only hardening that happens with stainless steel blades is work hardening. The steels just can't be made very strong without a lot of extra effort that most blade companies just can't put into the product without significantly raising cost. I think that the case here is just that the steel was thin (it's a small knife) and was being struck. Since it has been hammered on before, it may have developed structural flaws before this occasion.
...but it's a good lesson nonetheless! No stainless steel in swords that see any sort of contact with anything harder than air!
Edited to add a PS: Also, no steel on steel with swords in general. Not unless one is trained in the use of the swords and the blades are made specifically for contact (IE stage steel).
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Marc Kaden Ridgeway
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Retired Global Moderator
Awful lot of leaving and joining going on here for me .... And gosh I can't recall doing a bit of i
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Post by Marc Kaden Ridgeway on Oct 8, 2010 11:25:25 GMT
There are a handful (or less) of. Custom makers making excellent swords from stainless.
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Post by Odingaard on Oct 8, 2010 17:28:30 GMT
Topic moved to proper area for discussion.
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Post by Hyoujinsama on Oct 8, 2010 23:28:31 GMT
Ooh, like that one smith who made that stunning rapier and gauche set.
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Post by MOK on Nov 2, 2010 17:32:21 GMT
Just to add a contrasting note, my twelve years old Mora 2000 utility knife has been used for everything from whittling wood through hammering nails to cutting open tin cans, and the only thing wrong with it are the scratches from sloppy sharpening. That's a good piece of stainless steel for ya.  That said, there's no way I would trust a yard long blade made of the same material... |
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