Testing, testing...

[HHH Knives]

In my "spare time" I have been working on some Heat Treat testing.

The steel is from my friends at Bohler.. Its a NEW (to me) stainless steel that looks like its going to have great potential as both Kitchen knives and hunting style knives. (blades designed for cutting proteins)

Very exciting stuff. yet time consuming.. Im currently running a batch of 6 blades. With 6 more to follow closely. The info I gain from these tests should teach me volumes about this steel and its potential in the kitchen.

I am running tests on austenitizing temps, hold times. quench methods. As well as its response to Cryogenic soak verses no cryo.

After Cryo. I will Temper these blades and grind them all the same (as close to humanly possible) Then I will start running many tests to include but not limited to HRC testing, edge holding, max edge angles. as well as things like wear resistance and toughness.

What is Cryo and or why do it? Cryo treatment converts retained Austenite. Which in turn results in higher RC hardness, as well as in some steels gives notable advantages in added toughness and wear resistance. All of these things add up to a better cutting tool. Which is what we want.

After Cryo. I will Temper these blades and grind them all the same (as close to humanly possible) Then I will start running many tests to include but not limited to edge holding, max edge angles. as well as things like wear resistance and toughness. Pushing them to and then past where the steel is optimal.

So far, I have really put the RC tester to work on these, and have done approx 500 test cycles so far. And have started to grind the blades.

Ill share more info as I can. and try and remember to take some pictures to share along the way.
God Bless
Randy

[Crothcipt]

Sounds like a long process. I know you are loving it.

[mainaman]

What is the steel if not a secret?
They have some really cool stuff such as Vanax , Elmax, I think M390 is their too.

[Mucho Bocho]

Thanks for posting Randy. We're all interested in learning from your experiments too. Its awesome of you to document your build process so that other makers/wat-to-be maker can benefit for your testing. Lookng forward to the developments.

[cheflarge]

Awesome stuff, brother, would this steel be to rival say, AEB-L or something similar?

[HHH Knives]

Sounds like a long process. I know you are loving it.

Thanks for posting Randy. We're all interested in learning from your experiments too. Its awesome of you to document your build process so that other makers/wat-to-be maker can benefit for your testing. Lookng forward to the developments.

Happy to share in my CRAZINESS! Probably not even a word!! But its a state of mind! LMAO!

This is gona take me some time to really have any definitive results. and then, they will only be, my conclusions. Which I understand is just that. :P But hey. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I always learn alot from all these kind of tests and gain experiences that is undoubtedly a asset to all of my future heat treating. Pair that with any help or info I can share with a fellow maker or end user. Then thats just awesome!

If all goes well. Ill be doing some test cutting with these blades. soon!

[HHH Knives]

What is the steel if not a secret?
They have some really cool stuff such as Vanax , Elmax, I think M390 is their too.

No doubt Bohler has many GREAT steels to choose from. This stuff is called N690 and is arguably very similar to VG-10 on paper.

Here is the link to Bohlers stats and the HT info and graphs etc. LINK

Awesome stuff, brother, would this steel be to rival say, AEB-L or something similar?

Chef, I dont think its gona be a rival. This steel is a different monster. For me. (Im a CARBON steel lover) AEB-L IMO is the best stainless I have tested and used in regards to acting like a great carbon steel. So it is the benchmark for me in some areas of my testing. Yet I dont expect this steel to preform "like" AEB-L. I am hopeful it works more like VG-10 on steroids. Without the chippyness or micro fracturing and or similar problems I have experienced or read about VG-10 having.

My thought to this point are that it will have a higher edge retention and wear resistance then the AEB-L. In many ways I expect it to far exceed AEB-L.. There are so many factors that makes up a steel and or how it actually works as a knife. I am having fun and learning more about Steel and how it acts or reacts as I continue testing different steels. BIG FUN!!


I have initial RC numbers for the first 6 blades. Surprisingly to me. My HRC numbers for all 6 blades are very close. With only a small difference between average RC numbers across the board. (less then .65 of a point.)

Considering the fact I heat treated each blade different from the next one. Longer soak times. Or Higher temps and shorter soak time. etc X6 and even 3 different quenching methods. and Cryo soak times etc.. That leads me to believe that even at a similar HRC the blades are gona act differently.. My quest continues!!!

God Bless ya