On 16 Nov 2006 09:25:44 -0800, "Brad" wrote:

That super quench is another form of case hardening. Great until you
need to sharpen and grind thru the case.
Also 304 is too soft for cutting tools. You will continually need to
resharpen.

You are right- I tried a bit of scrap, ground and sharpened it to a
razor edge, and it cut beautifully- for about 2 minutes. After that,
it was about as good as a butterknife.

But it's interesting to note that the 304 is highly recommended for
metal spinning. Definately something for me to play with- just not in
the way I initially thought.