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The Best Material in Manufacturing Superior Knives

Changing material is by far the easiest way to increase the useful lives of your knives. Extending the life of a cutting edge by three, four or five times by changing the material is not uncommon. In one case, 0-1 knives lasted six hours slitting rubber for golf ball thread, whereas M-3 high speed knives ran over a month before regrinding was necessary. While the M-3 knives were three times as expensive as the 0-1, the regrinding costs were only slightly higher and the total benefits more than justified the extra cost.

Material specifications are as important in establishing the durability of the tool as dimensions are. Our experts at Florida Knife will help you select which of the 100 grades of tool steel recognized as standard by the AISI would be best for your needs.

Table A below gives a list of some of the more common steels used in the manufacture of machine knives and a brief description of their uses.
Tables B and C evaluate wear resistance of the common steels.
Tables D and E compares the edge strength of various steels.
Table F measures the effectiveness of these steels to resist corrosion.

It should be understood that not all of the steels are available in small quantities or in all forms. Also, it may not be economically feasible to make large knives of solid carbide or high speed steel, although in some instances high speed or high alloy steels can be inlaid as a knife edge material, or carbide can be brazed to a backing of less expensive steel.

Table A - Common Knife Steels
4140 Inexpensive, medium alloy steel, good for samples or experimental
S-5 High shock, low wear used extensively for shearing steel over 1/2" thick
L-6 High shock, medium wear used for steel stamps, misc. inexpensive knives
H-12 High shock, hot hardness used for heavy shearing of hot steel
H-13 High shock, hot hardness used for tube mill rolls and shearing hot steel
52100 Used in ball bearings, makes good wearing, inexpensive knives
S-1 High shock, medium wear, used in bar shears and other severe shock application
O-1 Very common tool steel, but other steels offer more advantages
440-C Used in severely corrosive atmosphere - magnetic stainless
A-8 Inexpensive, used in wood chipper industry, good wear and shock resistance
O-7 Used for taps/dies, good wear, not available in all shapes/sizes
A-2 Very good wear, shock and corrosion resistant, readily available
D-2 High carbon, high chrome used in slitting/shearing steel and plastic granulating
Vasco Die Good wear and strength, used in severe punching operations
F-2 Very good wear, no shock, used in tooling for four slides
D-4 Very hard high carbon, high chrome used in slitting steel up to 1/2" thick
M-2 General purpose high speed, readily available, makes hard, tough knives
M-3-2 Somewhat harder than M-2 but not as tough
Vasco Wear Not a high speed, good wear but no hot hardness
A-7 Very good wear, no shock, used for granulating plastic and fire brick mold liners
M-4 Best high speed for the money, good wear, shock and resistance
A-7 Mod Very hard, used in fire brick molds too brittle for sharp-edged knives
T-15 Best high speed, very expensive, should be used only when necessary
WC (20 Tac) Tungsten carbide w/high tantalium carbide used for scarfing welds on steel tubing
WC (C-10) Tungsten carbide for shock application such as shearing wire, etc.
WC (C-6) Tungsten carbide used for cutting and milling steel
WC (C-2) Tungsten carbide, very hard, low shock general purpose grade

 
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