JohnM
04-12-2002, 08:24 AM
Has anyone heard of or tried M42 for knives? I got it from a blacksmith/welding shop. I had never heard of it before. This blacksmith knows his steel real well and apparently, it is used for large saw blades of some kind. He gave me several nice pieces of stock that appear to be precision ground. A quick heat with a torch, an oil quench and break, shows a very fine grain structure. This stuff definitely got hard. Has anyone tested performance in a knife blade, and if so, what were the results? Can anyone offer the heat treatment for M42?
He gave me the chemical analysis, but he did not have the heat treat. Here is the mix:
Carbon, 1.07 - 1.10
Manganese, 0.25 - 0.30
Silicon, 0.25
Chromium, 3.75 - 4.00
Molybdenum, 9.50 - 9.70
Vanadium, 1.15 - 1.20
Tungsten, 1.50 - 1.70
Cobalt, 8.0
JohnM
fitzo
04-12-2002, 01:36 PM
Check this website:
www.crucibleservice.com/rexm42.htm (http://www.crucibleservice.com/rexm42.htm)
Raymond Richard
04-12-2002, 01:37 PM
John, found this.......
www.crucibleservice.com/rexm42.htm (http://www.crucibleservice.com/rexm42.htm)
Hope this answers some of you questions.....Ray
JohnM
04-12-2002, 03:21 PM
Thanks a bunch, guys. Ray, it looks like you were right. This stuff has to get pretty hot for full conversion. My guess is that this stuff will be too hard and too brittle for a knife blade and would require some pretty high temperatures to even temper it close. I think I will play with it a bit in the shop just to see what happens. You know, sometimes a guy just has to experiment and have a little fun.
JohnM
Raymond Richard
04-12-2002, 04:47 PM
John, why not, see if it will move under the hammer. I don't think it is something I would want to try forging. Its probably a darn good steel, I would think very expensive also. Ray
JHossom
04-12-2002, 05:03 PM
Forging temp is 2025-2075F, and not below 1700F. You might move it with a hammer, but not too far... :)
It's toughness numbers are pretty low in Crucible's book.
Rade L Hawkins
04-29-2002, 09:24 PM
M-42 makes very good drill bits and lathe cutters. The cobalt tungsten and vanadium alloys will take this steel up into the mid 65 range. I have used it for years on bimetal band saw blades and it is great. The alloys are not condusive to very thin knife egdes and in my opinion will not make a good knife blade. I am not sure but I think the hardning is in the 2100 F degree range. This steel was developed for steel cutting tools--Rade