"Ken Grunke" wrote in message
...
Does anyone know what type of stainless steel is generally used for
common butterknives? They seem to have the same temper as carbon
spring steel, as I can't bend them. Looking for guidelines on heat
treating, as I want to hot-forge the handles to make jaw harps, and
might have to restore the blade's temper for springiness of the
tongue.

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http://www.mastainless.com/faqs
"The 300 series stainless steel can be hardened but only by work
hardening." which means deformation, such as pressing the blank into
the knife mold.

Hardness doesn't affect "springiness", the distance a force stretches
the metal. Harder steel can merely be stretched further without taking
a permanent set.

You can prove this to yourself by clamping the tips of two long bugle
head screws in a vise and heating the shank of one red hot with a
torch. They will still vibrate at the same tone and be equally
difficult to bend a short distance, but the annealed one will yield if
pushed further.