Thread: Metallurgy of old steel vs. new forged blades

correct me if I'm wrong, but does not Mr Zowada make his steels from scratch on occasion?

As have I, for a decade or so.

Here is my take on this subject ! Most blade smiths (people who forge blades) pay quite a lot of attention to grain refinement in the steels they use , mainly because in the forging process there is quite a bit of grain growth . On that same token , most people who do stock removal (grinding away steel to create the shape of the blade) just assume that the steel they buy is already in a state of fine grain ! This is not always the case !!! But taking this as a rule , the bladesmiths will generally end up with a finer grain steel and the finer the grain in the steel , the better the blade will perform (that is an absolute fact) . That all said , there are guys out there that will go the extra mile to ensure they get the best result possible no matter what process they follow . I personally to mostly stock removal as most of my razors are stainless (RWL34) and i have spent a lot of money and a lot of time to refine my heat treatment process to get the best results i possibly can . This includes a full soft anneal and spheridize (where needed) and a sub zero quench (taking the steel down to minus 80°c after the initial quench ! With the older technology steels like the 10xx series and W series steels , this is of critical importance , where as with some of the modern steels you do not need to pay anywhere near as much attention with it . Some of the more modern steels are superior to the older steels in just about every way , but this does not mean that the knives made from them are better than the old steels , it just means that they will perform better if they are treated correctly !
As for forged blades being better than stock removed blades , i do think that is a myth , provided they have both had the same attention payed on them ! This may be a whole big can of worms , but having spent many hundreds of hours going through the motions and doing tests and reading what other have done and having done a degree in metallurgy, i honestly believe this to be the case !

Correct RazorJack. If you start with good steel and treat it correctly, it will produce a good tool regardless of forged or stock removal. Also, if you start with good steel and treat it poorly, you will end up with a poor performing tool. I'd rather have a knife or razor that was made from 1050 and heat treated correctly, than a knife or razor made from the latest and greatest steel that was improperly heat treated.

As I've said in the past, I forge because the steel that I like to use is in the wrong shape and stock removal isn't an option. I'm also a big believer in the correct steel for the tool. My favorite hunting knife steel would make a pretty terrible razor.