Thread: Silver Steel vs Carbon Steel?

I found a little shop that have a few razors (used). I picked one up to practice honing with. I have been trying to use the pyramid but this thing wouldn't cut butter. Is Silver Steel harder than Carbon? Do the strokes have to be increased if it is a harder steel? Under a magnifier on one side I see a black line that runs the length of the blade. I have back honed it trying to get it out but no luck.
Any help would be appreciated.
Donald

Mark the bevel with a magic marker and give it a few licks on the hone until the marker starts getting ground off wherever the hone is touching. This should give you more information - it's possible that the hone hasn't finished grinding a new clean bevel yet. This can take awhile on a vintage blade, so be patient.

Would it help to do some lap's with 1000 grit wet sand paper on a flat piece of granite? Maybe try to get a more metal to come off in a lesser amount of time?
Donald

Donald, that's why you have the 1k grit. To quickly establish a new bevel. Try MP's advice first to know which areas to focus on.

Silver steel is a carbon steel. The carbon content can be higher in some European batches, allowed level of carbon up to 1.2%. There might be a touch of chromium or minor alloying elements but no where near stain resistance. That carbon content can increase hardness to a degree but with time and experience the blade makers would not have much variation in their heat treatment regimen. Optimum hardness is optimum hardness no matter the company of manufacture or the steel.

I've always been skeptical that silver steel actually had any silver in it. Was it called that because of the way such hard steels polish up?

Yesterday was the best day to find another something to do...

It is often used for bearings and requires the ability to take a high polish. There is no silver in silver steel. It's the equivalent of O-1 in most books of metallurgy that recognize it.

Yesterday was the best day to find another something to do...

Carbon 1.0-1.2%,
Silicon 0.3%
Chromium 0.4%
Manganese 0.35%

It really follows O-1 chemistry fairly closely. For this to be L-6 there would have to be nickel and a little more chromium.

Heck, there can be differences in working characteristics in the same chemistry from batch to batch from the same steel mill, despite the metallurgists saying "It's got to be the same stuff."