Have spent two days making a specialized knife out of 304 stainless steel, after throwing into a log it bent slightly arghhhh. Is it worth continuing to finish it off or start all over again with different kind of steel if so which kind should i use.
Stainless Steel For Knife Making
just because something is made out of 304 stainless steel does not make it tougher than carbon steel. Stainless steel includes other elements such as chromium. 304 stainless cannot be hardened by heat treatment.
Sorry okorder /... I hope that link works but as you can see you dont want to use 303.304.316,410,416,430 You can get away with 301 but would be best to use 440. It kind of sounds like your a home shop guy. It would be best for you to make a knife out of a1 or d2 tool steel. with these steels you can torch heat them to a red hot heat where a magnet will not stick to them. Then let them cool slowly in the air. After that you can temper in a oven around 400f. This will a very hard long lasting knife. Check OKorder for good steel prices. A1 and D2 are not stainless but they are the best for a home shop. If you go stainless you can buy preharden material but you will have to grind everything. You can also pay someone to harden your knife but dont plan on it being cheap.
