Hi guys,

I may not be using the search engine right because I know there was at least one discussion on talonite in the forums but I only received 25 matches, none to the forums:confused: .

I was thinking of making my brother-in-law a fighter fix blade (a loveless style) and I was thinking of using talonite for the blade. If I understand the material right it can only be ground by belts, saws can’t cut it. It doesn't need heat processing. It takes a razor sharp edge (enough, one place said to be dangerous to the maker:eek: ). It can only be sharpened by diamond stones, but holds an edge a great deal longer than steels.

What other information is there on this metal, how is the tensile strength? How easy does it chip? Will I be able to shape it with a grinder moving at high speeds (3700rpm) with aluminum oxide belt?

Any help or advise ("are you NUTS!!!", ect) welcomed,
Jim

I used the search button at the top of this page and got 77 hits for "talonite". Here's the direct link to the results:

http://www.ckdforums.com/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=38462&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending

Hope it helps.

Jim,
I'm not sure what you mean by "25 matches, none to the forums".

I've got to ask a stupid question. Are you using an external search engine like Google, Excite, Hotbot, etc.? If so, that's not what you want. You want to use the http://www.ckdforums.com/images/top_search.gif (http://www.ckdforums.com/search.php?s=) button at the top of the forums.

Jim, I have used quite a bit of Talonite. Makes a good cutter, but a lousy prybar. Not prone to chipping that I am aware of. Can be sharpened quite easily on ordinary stones, since the hardness is somewhere in the high forties. It is the carbides in the cobalt matrix that allow it to take and hold a good edge.

Drill holes with carbide bits, and grind to profile (you can't saw it). This means buying individual pieces that are as close as you can get them to the dimension you intend for your knives to minimize waste. Good luck!

:o :( ,

I was using the "knifeseek" one at the top. Thanks for the kick in the butt.

My brother is fairly smart (for a marine), so I hope he won't use any knife as a pry bar, with marine who knows. Seriously I just wanted to make sure that it would be ok for him to take out into the field with him. Now he's not going to be anywhere near combat, he does the calcs for the "gun bunnies" on the howitsers, so he doesn't need something to dig fighting holes or cut barbwire.

Thanks for your time,
Jim

I really wouldn't recommend Talonite for a fighting knife. On hard contacts the edge will deform, at minimum it will roll. Combat knives usually get used for lots of things other than cutting, and when cutting are often called upon to cut things that knives weren't designed to cut. Talonite doesn't do well for many of these roles because of its relative softness. Hardness in the high Rc40's. I'd strongly suggest using something else.

About Talonite, it does take a nice edge and hold it pretty well, but not as well as some steels. It can be sharpened with lots of things besides diamond. Ceramic works well. I carry a Talonite blade everyday and like it, but it's a folder and I think the material is best suited for a small knife and light cutting.

Thanks for the info Jerry,

What would you recommend for this aplication?

Jim

154cm or s30v for ss?
o1 or 1084 for carbon?

Wayne,

Thanks for jumping in. I will want to go with ss. I want to make something low maintenance with good edge holding. The finish is not important, satin will be better than mirror in the field. I guess that points to S30V. There is plenty of info around here on it. I'll do some searching to see what I turn up.

Thanks again,
Jim

S30V is certainly the best stainless and doesn't need to apologize to much of anything in the non-stainless world. It would be a good choice. Strider and Simonich use it in their combat blades, as do I.

You can cut Stellite (Talonite) with abrasive wheels, those belts you want to use wont be much good, you need to use premium ceramic belts...........drill with carbide, and otherwise its just like grinding anything else.............


and dont listen to Jerry, he doesnt know nothin!!!! :D

Originally posted by tom mayo
...and dont listen to Jerry, he doesnt know nothin!!!! :D

I know I'm gonna kick your butt in two weeks... :lol

I know I'm gonna kick your butt in two weeks
feet are fine, jerry - just don't use your fist. i don't want you hurting that wrist again.
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btw, terrill says it only takes a six pack per knife these days. if i ship you a case of microbrew, will i move up any on the waiting list? :lol
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have fun at blade, guys, and enjoy the scotch party!!! :eek: