simple forgeable stainless

[Noellaflamme]

So I don't know stainles alloys very much, but is there a stainless alloy that forges somewhat well, that i could use for a fillet knife? I do also have a kiln for heat treatment if that helps so it wouldnt be a forge heat treat.

 

[EdCaffreyMS]

IMO the words "stainless" and "forgeable" do not belong in the same sentence. I spent two years of my career trying to/forging stainless steels, and the only real thing I accomplished was ruining a lot of otherwise good stainless steel. Yes, there have been people who forged stainless steels, but honestly, it was more of a gimmick then anything. Nothing wrong with a Bladesmith making a stainless fillet knife via stock removal. You'll have far less frustration, and a far better end product.

Personally, from a Bladesmithing aspect, when I produce a fillet blade, it's usually 15N20, and it's finished out with clear Gun-Kote for protection.

 

[Noellaflamme]

IMO the words "stainless" and "forgeable" do not belong in the same sentence. I spent two years of my career trying to/forging stainless steels, and the only real thing I accomplished was ruining a lot of otherwise good stainless steel. Yes, there have been people who forged stainless steels, but honestly, it was more of a gimmick then anything. Nothing wrong with a Bladesmith making a stainless fillet knife via stock removal. You'll have far less frustration, and a far better end product.

Personally, from a Bladesmithing aspect, when I produce a fillet blade, it's usually 15N20, and it's finished out with clear Gun-Kote for protection.

haha thats good to know, and yeah i could jsut do stock removal.... but honestly i hate doing stock removal haha.... nothing wrong with it but its not as enjoyable lol. I will definitly look into the clear Gun-Kote though. any reason why 15n25 and not another carbon steel? like may 80crv2?

 

[EdCaffreyMS]

More flexibility out of 15N20, and available in thicknesses better suited to fillet blades.

If you've never tackled a fillet blade, there are a lot of "twists and turns" in creating one. It's not bad forging the thickness, but grinding is where the frustration begins.
Generally when I produce a fillet blade, it's .050 for smaller ones, to around .070/.080 for those that are 10"+, that thickness means that the blades warp as they are being ground. Best practice is to have some type of a "backer" when grinding. There are a number of things you can use from wood to steel, but I prefer aluminum, because it "sucks" the heat away from the blade, and gives a measure of burning protection when grinding post heat treat. Correctly heat treating can be a bit frustrating too. Most of the time it's "Give-n-Take"..... meaning that personally the flexibility in fillet blades are more important to me than edge retention, so I will accept a bit softer than I'd like in order to achieve the flexibility I demand. Sometimes, that can be a matter of 15-20 degrees F when tempering. Hardening is also sometimes a real challenge. The first time I ever literally say a blade turn into a "U" shape in the quench, was one of my first 15N20 fillet blades.

Most folks who don't have experience with fillet blades think of them as just another blade to make/build..... but often learn that they are a very specialized discipline in knifemaking, and that there are reasons that you don't see many experience makers producing them.

 

[Gilbert M]

Could be tricky to get it so thin ,but you could do stainless /carbon San mai . For stainless San mai I've only used 410 and it works well.

 

[KenH]

As Gilbert says, if you want to "forge" SS, then do a SS/high carbon San Mai. Have the SS cladding fairly thick so the cladding doesn't leave much of the high carbon exposed after grinding and you'll have a "forged" SS blade. Not sure about using that for a fillet knife, as Ed says they need to be pretty thin.

While there is nothing wrong with 15N20, my choice for an 8 to 10" fillet blade would be stock removal using AEB-L about .060" thick. You've got a kiln that reaches 1975F? If so you could HT yourself.

 

[Noellaflamme]

More flexibility out of 15N20, and available in thicknesses better suited to fillet blades.

If you've never tackled a fillet blade, there are a lot of "twists and turns" in creating one. It's not bad forging the thickness, but grinding is where the frustration begins.
Generally when I produce a fillet blade, it's .050 for smaller ones, to around .070/.080 for those that are 10"+, that thickness means that the blades warp as they are being ground. Best practice is to have some type of a "backer" when grinding. There are a number of things you can use from wood to steel, but I prefer aluminum, because it "sucks" the heat away from the blade, and gives a measure of burning protection when grinding post heat treat. Correctly heat treating can be a bit frustrating too. Most of the time it's "Give-n-Take"..... meaning that personally the flexibility in fillet blades are more important to me than edge retention, so I will accept a bit softer than I'd like in order to achieve the flexibility I demand. Sometimes, that can be a matter of 15-20 degrees F when tempering. Hardening is also sometimes a real challenge. The first time I ever literally say a blade turn into a "U" shape in the quench, was one of my first 15N20 fillet blades.

Most folks who don't have experience with fillet blades think of them as just another blade to make/build..... but often learn that they are a very specialized discipline in knifemaking, and that there are reasons that you don't see many experience makers producing them.

Well i lucked out today and got my hands on a large bandsaw blade, .055 thick and about an inch wide after i remove the teath... this should work perfectly!

 

[EdCaffreyMS]

Be careful. That's not necessarily 15N20. Many of those blades are bi-metal....meaning that the only "hard" part is the teeth. The rest is a more flexible/softer material. Usually, unless the saw blade is 6" wide or more, it's not 15N20. It's pretty inexpensive to just order a piece and be sure of what you have, versus possibly wasting a bunch of time/effort/supplies to find out it's not what you need.

 

[Noellaflamme]

Be careful. That's not necessarily 15N20. Many of those blades are bi-metal....meaning that the only "hard" part is the teeth. The rest is a more flexible/softer material. Usually, unless the saw blade is 6" wide or more, it's not 15N20. It's pretty inexpensive to just order a piece and be sure of what you have, versus possibly wasting a bunch of time/effort/supplies to find out it's not what you need.

i may still order some 15n20, but im going to play aorund with this stuff... worst case scenario i get practive grinding very thin blades. it does seem to be somewhat hardenable though... only destructive testing will tell how it will do i guess