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I also have some Patreon-exclusive bonus content related to this article such as Nitrobe 77, Nitro-V, and 14C28N steel hardness data and experiments on the effects of the high temperature temper on nitrogen steel hardness.
Thank you to all the new Knife Steel Nerds Patreon Supporters! Todd Mosley, Thor Odinson, Brian Linse, David Levinger, Andrew Lindsay, Paul Pedrazzi, Lee Cavanaugh, Marc B, RussianStuff, Peter Csizek, Steve Walters Paradog Knives, Alan D King, Knife Pivot Lube, Dominic Paolantonio, and Matthew Reagan.
Thank you to all the new supporters on the Knife Steel Nerds Patreon! This type of research in heat treating wouldn’t be possible without all you supporters. Jim Ballard, Distal Steel, Max Vasilatos, Samuel Hicks, Gundam Iupus, Michael Brauer, Luong La, Chris Hancock, Todd Ellner, Brendon Novak, Yannis Hmade, Kyle Daily, Kenneth Proefrock, JRG, Jason Keen, Robert Johnson, Travis, C. Thomas Guething, Kevin Lavery, Zac War, Justin Smith, Jay Mwangi, Kiyoul Park, Luis Maian, Scott Maslowe, HK Knifeworks, James Hunsberger, Nicholas, Bruce Blake, Matthew Hutchinson, FOBOS Knives, Reiff Knives, Raphael Dall’Anese, Jonathan Shook, Tony Garcia, Dean Paxton, Carey A. Buckles, Pops Knife Supply, J. McConnell, and blank blank.
Background
A recent Spyderco Byte has announced a replacement for H1 steel – H2. H1 is known for being a very high corrosion resistance steel used primarily in Spyderco’s Salt line of knives. I have a previous article about the design of H1 and how it “works” which you can read here. I am somewhat tempted to re-write large chunks of that article here because H1 is one of the most misunderstood knife steels but I am going to try to hit a few of the highlights without much explanation and I hope you will read the earlier article to understand what I am referring to:
Several people have sent me links to a recent publication about a process that increased the hardness/strength of basswood. They then demonstrated the success of their processing by making a knife and a nail out of the wood. See here for an example of one of these articles: https://www.cnet.com/news/scientists-create-a-wooden-knife-thats-three-times-sharper-than-steel/
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Video Version
Here is the video version of the following content:
Note: I have a new article on ApexUltra that shows properties of the final product (as opposed to these experiments with “lab scale” production). And also heat treatment recommendations on the final steel. Click here to read the newer article.
Thanks to the new Knife Steel Nerds Patreon supporters! Jason Webb, Miguel Angel Duarte, Jason Ward, Zsolt Papp, Peter Nystrom, Travis Johnson, John Burridge, Chris Warkocki, Michael Steele, Barry Gordon, John Hannaford, and Gregory Horn.
Thanks to Bill Smutz, Alex Topfer, Florian Bachler, Brunhard, Art, Rod H, Sach, Jinny Koh, Jon Duda, Cory Henderson, and UPKnife for becoming Knife Steeel Nerds Patreon supporters! And Michael Fitzgerald, Tim Marais, and Head VI for increasing their contributions. All of the experiments shown below are possible thanks to supporters.
