Forged S30V.....The testing begins...

[Ed Caffrey]

Well, Today I started carrying an EBK created from S30V. Once I got my hands on some heat treat foil (Thanks Bill!), I was able to try a few different methods of hardening. I found that the most complete hardening comes from placing the blade (while still in the foil) between two 1" plates of aluminum or steel. I tried tempering at 600F, but the blade would not pass the brass rod test. It appeard too soft........so the next one I tempered at 550F, and got good results,

So far, I really don't have too many great things to say about the S30V. It is super tough to finish in it's hardened state, is really difficult to sharpen in comparison to 52100, and the fact that it fully hardens means that I have to change my methodology about putting a knife together.

So far I have tested it on plywood and a heavy cardboard shipping tube, and done a little toughness testing between it, 1084, and 52100. The S30 is stout for it's thickness and geometry, but I'm so used to having blades that will bend to 90 degrees, that it really surprised me when the S30 blade let go with a lound SNAP, at about 30 degrees of flex.
S30 out performs 1084 as far as edge retention, and only slightly beats out 52100 on the plywood shaving. On the card board tube, it and the 52100 petered out at about the same time, but it only took a few strokes on the india stone to have the 52100 back to shaving sharp...........the S30 took considerably longer to bring the edge back.
I'll pack this S30 EBK around for a while, and let you know more. As of right now, the only advantage I can see in the S30 is the stain resistance for those who are really concerned about that sort of stuff. I was hoping that this steel would be the "Magic Arrow"........but I suppose I'll still be waiting for that one.
I do know that if I do decide to offer S30V on my EBKs and Progression folders, it will certainly not carry the same guaruntee that my forged blades do......... either that, or I'll have to modify the blade thicknesses and geometry to help compensate for the weaknesses....... More to come.

[Gary Mulkey]

Ed,

Something that would be interesting to see is to compare the forged S30V blade with one identical but made by stock removal to see how & if they differ. I wonder if forging changes the grain size or not.

Gary

[Ed Caffrey]

Gary,

That's exactly what my intentions are. I have another stock removal blade out of S30, but just haven't gotten it completed. Once I do, I'll throw it in the ring with the others and see what comes.