jim rozen wrote:

In article , Ed Huntress says...

Until HSS steel was developed, high-carbon steel (Rc 60 - 65) was used for
cutting tools. It works OK. You just have to keep speeds 'way down so you
don't wreck the hardness. It doesn't wear as well as HSS, either. So, you
just change or sharpen tools more often.

What about harold's favorite, Stellite? That was around well
before HSS was developed, right? Granted you could not just
cook some up on the kitchen stove...

Jim


A short history of HSS:
http://www.tech.plymouth.ac.uk/sme/desnotes/toolst.htm

Stellite came quite a time later:
http://www.haynesintl.com/Historypage/History.htm

Tom

Tom