F2 steel

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GorillaGrunt

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I thought I was past this sort of thing but clearly I’m not! Are there any makers working in F2 steel — or — is 1.2562 also good at HRC 67-69? Want to try big impressive numbers and quest after mithril/Valyrian steel/vajra.
 
GorillaGrunt said:
I thought I was past this sort of thing but clearly I’m not! Are there any makers working in F2 steel — or — is 1.2562 also good at HRC 67-69? Want to try big impressive numbers and quest after mithril/Valyrian steel/vajra.
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Me too me too, I've been wanting to try 1.2562 for a while, I would even settle for lower hardness. Never heard of anyone using F2 though, got interested in it and 1.2562 after one of Larrin's articles.
 
I'm curious if F2 and/or 1.2562 have an advantage over ZDP-189? Is there a measureable difference in toughness?

I'm curious what advantage you're looking for at very high hardness...
 
milkbaby said:
I'm curious if F2 and/or 1.2562 have an advantage over ZDP-189? Is there a measureable difference in toughness?

I'm curious what advantage you're looking for at very high hardness...
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That I don’t know, although these are much lower alloy/carbide than ZDP189 and HAP40 so I’d expect a difference in sharpening and workable angles. I’ve seen a few Euro customs in 1.2562. I got onto this from a thread about Togo Reigo, and I don’t know if there’s a particular advantage over AS or whatever else, just want to try it out if possible.
 
I think Robin Dahlman spoke about 1.2 if I remember correctly. I’d shoot him a PM and get his thoughts on pros and cons if he’s indeed the one who was referencing it. Also, does anyone really know the composition of Togo steel, my understanding was it was mostly based on assumption.
 
I got interested in these steels after I read this http://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/03/...uper-the-facts-about-tungsten-alloyed-steels/ article by Larrin.

These and especially F2 seem like they would have higher wear resistance with better or similar toughness as AS. 1.2562 was also mentioned to have surprisingly high edge stability. Both can reach high hardness and F2 doesn't seem to lose toughness as it becomes harder as much as other steels. ZDP189 is most likely less tough, maybe Larrin can chime in.

Basically, these might be somewhat better than AS, what's not to like.
 
Yea it's good stuff. Got a few knives completed and out there. Got myself a little stock I will laminate once I got moved and built the new shop with forging setup.
 
To elaborate a bit: who knows what Togo Reigo was, but F2 was mentioned in a thread about it and when I looked it up I saw that 67-69 number. The other steels that reach that hardness have the tradeoff of very high alloy and carbide content, but these not so much. I just remembered about the AS at 67 and that it was rather brittle, but I’m still curious.
 
I'm holding out for Sky-Iron salvaged from the armor of a Panserbjørn.

radioactive-bear-cavalry.png
 
GorillaGrunt said:
To elaborate a bit: who knows what Togo Reigo was, but F2 was mentioned in a thread about it and when I looked it up I saw that 67-69 number. The other steels that reach that hardness have the tradeoff of very high alloy and carbide content, but these not so much. I just remembered about the AS at 67 and that it was rather brittle, but I’m still curious.
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Ya, I remember that BST thread. Not sure how Togo And F2 ended up together, but those 2 steels are generations apart. Who has AS at 67? That’s crazy high. Very interesting to read about the progression of steels and how they apply.
 
I think damascus sukenari as gyutos used to Be 66-67 (was it Even 68?!) hrc. But they made it lower because of failure %.

Edit. IT was 66-67, James @ knivesandstones has article about his visit at sukenari. And some info about those as gyutos aswell.
 
Togo, F2, 1.2562 are all in the same class of steels and are similar.

I wouldn’t run it higher than 63-64. These steels lack toughness but have high wear resistance and good keeness.

I’ve made a few knives out of 1.2562 and love the way they cut. I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone though. I think F2 will probably have a more balanced composition. They do not make F2 any more.

Hoss
 
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Thanks a lot for your input Hoss. How would you compare these to your heat treat of PD1, it is my favorite steel at the moment, so just want to gauge these to PD1.
 
GorillaGrunt said:
Thanks Hoss! I’ll have to do some research on toughness.
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I made a guy a small cleaver, it was thin edged so it easily did "freestand" on his endgrain board... His gf tried it and poof he lost 2-3 mm of the tip when it had gotten stuck slightly and twisted.. So simply put, it's a little more sensitive and will tend to chip out with thin geometry and not good technique control. But the owners are so far happy about it, holds edge really well.
 
Barmoley said:
Thanks a lot for your input Hoss. How would you compare these to your heat treat of PD1, it is my favorite steel at the moment, so just want to gauge these to PD1.
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PD1 is tougher, 1.2562 is more wear resistant.

Hoss
 
RDalman said:
I made a guy a small cleaver, it was thin edged so it easily did "freestand" on his endgrain board... His gf tried it and poof he lost 2-3 mm of the tip when it had gotten stuck slightly and twisted.. So simply put, it's a little more sensitive and will tend to chip out with thin geometry and not good technique control. But the owners are so far happy about it, holds edge really well.
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He should find a new girlfriend!
 
GorillaGrunt said:
Thanks Hoss! I’ll have to do some research on toughness.
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The technical definition for toughness is basically the energy needed to fracture something. So glass shards are really sharp but have low toughness since they're easily broken. At the other extreme a very soft steel is malleable and can absorb a lot of energy before fracturing. Neither one will make a good kitchen knife, so compromise is necessary :)
 
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