I will be at Blade Show Atlanta again this year. The big thing on my schedule is a Blade University class on June 7th, Friday morning. I have done different Blade University classes the past few years and it has been fun each time. This is a general class on thermal cycling using a lot of past studies that we have done which have been published to the website and in recent years to YouTube. However, we did a new study on AEB-L and MagnaCut to have better data on how to “thermal cycle” stainless and high alloy steels and we had some very interesting and exciting results. I am hoping that we can get some more bladesmiths to start forging stainless steels instead of the nearly-universal choice of carbon and low alloy steel. Buy tickets here: https://bladeshow.com/buy-tickets/
Buck Knife
The Buck knife design I worked on, 501 “The Larrin” will have a small number available in a new combination – elk horn with a brass bolster. I am hearing there will be 25 available so I wouldn’t wait too long to get one if you are at the show.
Beautiful knife!
An old guy in the Guild says that forged 440C is harder and tougher than ground 440C.
Some bladesmiths quench low alloy steel like 52100 three times and say it improves the steel. I used to use O1 a lot, and quenching 3X improves it to a great extent. It cut rope 4X as long as ground and once-quenched O1. Have you tried this with air hard or stainless steels?
It has often been said that steel is compressed/compacted/densified when forged (edge packing) which is by now well known as a myth. A well established axe forging company in Europe still mentions this on their website, showing some old myths are tenacious…
I really hope Larrin Thomas will write an article about what he taught during this Blade University so we’ll know what process really improves properties and, as importantly, how to do it properly with what tools. I suspect a precise oven/kiln is part of the set up…
In the mean time, here is an article worth reading written by mastersmith Kevin Cashen:
https://www.cashenblades.com/images/articles/lowdown.html