wrote in message
oups.com...
what would be better for knives? and after its annealed and shaped can
it be hardened easily?


buy some blanks, they are preformed, you grind them how you want them....

xman

First of all, is your HSS material hardened or annealed?

If hard you have very little choice, but hard work ahead of you!

If annealed you can cut with band saw and drill at reduced speed (40 -
50 fpm) using high speed steel drills and cutting oil, followed by
filing and belt sanding.

In the hardened condition the only way to work the steel is by wire EDM
and grinding.
It might be worthwhile to have it annealed in that case.

You should be aware that HSS is not a good steel to make knives from.
For wood turning gouges it is fine.

what would be better for knives? and after its annealed and shaped can
it be hardened easily?

On 26 Dec 2005 09:03:25 -0800, wrote:

what would be better for knives? and after its annealed and shaped can
it be hardened easily?

OCS, or OMS

(old Chevy springs, or old Mercedes springs..which are the prefered
material for the Napales Kukri knife)

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

wrote in message
oups.com...
what would be better for knives? and after its annealed and shaped can
it be hardened easily?

There are some knife people here who probably will direct you to good knife
sites, where there is a lot of good information about steels, mixed in with
some misinformation. In general, the serious knifemakers have a pretty deep
knowledge about steels and a lot of practical information.

It should be pointed out that some good knifemakers think highly of using
HSS for knives, particularly for thick-bodied ones. It holds an edge really
well although it is not easy to sharpen to a fine edge.

As for heat-treating it to re-harden: you can re-harden it without big
trouble. However, hardening it back into true high-speed steel, with red
hardness, requires some knowledge and good temperature control -- more than
most home-shop heat-treating operations can really muster.

Hardening is a process you can do in one continuous step: heat, quench,
temper. Achieving red hardness is a two-step process. Without the second
step, you'll have hard steel but it won't hold its hardness up into the red
range (around 1,000 deg. F, plus or minus depending on the grade of steel).

I haven't done any serious wood turning but I'd be surprised if red hardness
is a big issue. May be, but I'd think you could get good performance from
your tools without it.

--
Ed Huntress

In article .com,
wrote:

what would be better for knives? and after its annealed and shaped can
it be hardened easily?

Get a few back issues of Knives Illustrated and read all about the
various alloys. Also, there are ads from knifemaker supply houses.

Joe Gwinn

A lot of the wood in wood turning contains more silicon than one can figure.
Some woods - dull carbide. The exotic woods - various 'hearts' - Purple, Green, Red
are tough. The woods draw up the dissolved silicon (from sand - SiO2) and build
structures within.
Martin
Martin Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
NRA LOH & Endowment Member
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder



Ed Huntress wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...

what would be better for knives? and after its annealed and shaped can
it be hardened easily?


There are some knife people here who probably will direct you to good knife
sites, where there is a lot of good information about steels, mixed in with
some misinformation. In general, the serious knifemakers have a pretty deep
knowledge about steels and a lot of practical information.

It should be pointed out that some good knifemakers think highly of using
HSS for knives, particularly for thick-bodied ones. It holds an edge really
well although it is not easy to sharpen to a fine edge.

As for heat-treating it to re-harden: you can re-harden it without big
trouble. However, hardening it back into true high-speed steel, with red
hardness, requires some knowledge and good temperature control -- more than
most home-shop heat-treating operations can really muster.

Hardening is a process you can do in one continuous step: heat, quench,
temper. Achieving red hardness is a two-step process. Without the second
step, you'll have hard steel but it won't hold its hardness up into the red
range (around 1,000 deg. F, plus or minus depending on the grade of steel).

I haven't done any serious wood turning but I'd be surprised if red hardness
is a big issue. May be, but I'd think you could get good performance from
your tools without it.

--
Ed Huntress



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"Martin H. Eastburn" wrote in message
...
A lot of the wood in wood turning contains more silicon than one can
figure.
Some woods - dull carbide. The exotic woods - various 'hearts' - Purple,
Green, Red
are tough. The woods draw up the dissolved silicon (from sand - SiO2) and
build
structures within.

Well, what do you think -- does he need red hardness? He'll get the best
wear resistance you can get with steel, using HSS with or without red
hardness. But will the tool get hot enough to require it?

--
Ed Huntress

You take one lousy week off to join Thorax at the Elvis concert, and this
is what happens: Gunner Asch writes on Mon, 26 Dec
2005 18:21:06 GMT in rec.crafts.metalworking :
On 26 Dec 2005 09:03:25 -0800, wrote:

what would be better for knives? and after its annealed and shaped can
it be hardened easily?

OCS, or OMS

(old Chevy springs, or old Mercedes springs..which are the prefered
material for the Napales Kukri knife)

I've got a tip of one of those, makes a fine wedge to pry vises off
milling tables...


Peter

--
pyotr filipivich.
as an explaination for the decline in the US's tech edge, James
Niccol wrote "It used to be that the USA was pretty good at
producing stuff teenaged boys could lose a finger or two playing with."

On Tue, 27 Dec 2005 18:27:39 GMT, pyotr filipivich
wrote:

You take one lousy week off to join Thorax at the Elvis concert, and this
is what happens: Gunner Asch writes on Mon, 26 Dec
2005 18:21:06 GMT in rec.crafts.metalworking :
On 26 Dec 2005 09:03:25 -0800, wrote:

what would be better for knives? and after its annealed and shaped can
it be hardened easily?

OCS, or OMS

(old Chevy springs, or old Mercedes springs..which are the prefered
material for the Napales Kukri knife)

I've got a tip of one of those, makes a fine wedge to pry vises off
milling tables...


Peter

I have a modest collection of very old Kukris, and in fact, carry one
in both the truck at all times in my BOB (current military issue, not
a paki version) and have a sheath for one of the smaller "social"
ones, (pre 1900, interesting steel) that counterbalances the 1911 in
my "serious business" shoulder holster.

Im very much a fan of Kukris, and as Im sure you are aware..G I have
a serious view of knives and own several.

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

It's best not to shell or edge harden - as re-sharpening is a constant bit of fun.
Should be the whole end - and then hand grind as needed. Wheel grinding should be
done with a cool chip off wheel. White or Pink - those that chip as they grind
and re-make sharp points - but the chips carry off some heat. Work slow.

The nasty bit - a nice 80 point 10" blade of carbide - now like a butter knife.
But now they are starting to use Steel grade Carbide on wood tools and it is lasting better.

Martin
Martin Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
NRA LOH & Endowment Member
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder



Ed Huntress wrote:
"Martin H. Eastburn" wrote in message
...

A lot of the wood in wood turning contains more silicon than one can

figure.

Some woods - dull carbide. The exotic woods - various 'hearts' - Purple,

Green, Red

are tough. The woods draw up the dissolved silicon (from sand - SiO2) and

build

structures within.


Well, what do you think -- does he need red hardness? He'll get the best
wear resistance you can get with steel, using HSS with or without red
hardness. But will the tool get hot enough to require it?

--
Ed Huntress



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