Mr.M Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 I have made stock removal knives off and on for some time under the guise of MCK. Since I was a child I have wanted to smith and now that the bride, tribe, and I have bought a house I now have a place to do it. I have a RR track stood up in a 5 gallon pail on concrete as my anvil and a rim I found in my woods as a forge. The blower is a hair dryer and it is wood fired. I also got a anvil on loan from a family member that also does a little smithing and knife making but I haven't got a stump for it yet. I have made various hooks and a RR spike knife in the forge but tonight I had got a dozen or so 6" dia bearing races that I'm going to make a few blades out of. This stuff takes a little more to move than the low carbon I've been working. It was about an hour long process to hot cut the bearing and get it straight. When I get to a computer I'll upload some pictures and do a WIP as I make this knife. I'm interested to see how it will compare to my 440c and CPM-154 blades. My wife has a paring knife I made her a few Christmas' ago out of CPM S35VN. I'm hoping to make her a longer one out of this 52100 so she can test it. Hope you enjoy watching this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmccustomknives Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Sounds like you've got 52100 or a version there of. If you get the heat treat right it should roughly hold an edge twice as long as the 440c. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 note that large bearing races are often case hardened 9620, please test before spending the time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Tim215 Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Using 52100 as a first time forged knife is brave. I have made many and have had lots of failures. The trick with 52100 is never to allow it to get too hot and always stop hammering before it gets too cold. There is a very short forging time with this steel in my experience. If the steel goes above critical it will devolope hair line cracks and the same with forging too cold. Normalising properly is of utmost importance with 52100 and i'm sure some steel guru will come and explain mor technically shortly. Otherwise if done properly this makes one excellent knife steel for small to med knives. And again as above, make sure it is 52100 as a lot of them are not and are case hardened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Often when we talk about bearings Patrick will weigh in as he worked as a metallurgist for a major bearing company for several years..., the <deleted> <deleted> good friend is probably at Quad-State right now trying to brush off all the neat stuff that's sticking to him as he walks through tailgating...grrr.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.M Posted September 29, 2013 Author Share Posted September 29, 2013 I haven't had time to do anything else yet other than get it straight. It takes a little more to move that than it does the low carbon stuff I have been pounding on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmccustomknives Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 Your working that dog too hard. Look at 'em all tuckered out and junk. :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.M Posted September 30, 2013 Author Share Posted September 30, 2013 Haha, that's the laziest mutt I've ever set eyes on. I am kind of jealous of him :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Smith Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 I made one for my brother out of a bearing race from his 1 ton chevy work truck. The hard part for me was not ruining the bearing numbers when finishing. Yes it is a hard material to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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