Grem Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Okay so I've been hunting around for some metal suppliers that would deal in specific metal alloys. I have plenty of scrap yards near by but you can't really gauge the quality of the metal and what it contains. My idea is to try and work with a multi layered blade using a soft steel for the core, and for example using a Tungsten/steel alloy for a blade edge. I've contacted some of the steel suppliers in vegas, a few have said they only deal in carbon steels and SOME titanium alloys, others have said they only deal in bulk steels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmccustomknives Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 How much Damascus have you made? The reason I ask is some alloys will not weld, or will resist welding. Alloys with tungsten is one of them as the tungsten is added to give the steel a "red" hardness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Also I have found many of the large supppliers will sell to me, but many wont sell to people that waste their time. go in and tell them the alloy you want, and pay and move along. If you come in wanting a metalurgical education, they wont take any time for anything except to show you the door. Are you going to the correct places? for example we have a knife making sections yet you posted this request for information in the Nonferrous section. If you paid as much attention when you called the supppliers, they may actually not have had anything to sell you. I will rellocate it since it seems lost in this section. You asked about a "Tungsten/steel alloy" but didnt state which one. Many supply houses have no clue, they just sell the stuff. Also why do you feel that is a good alloy to use, and ou forgot to statee what type of blade. Most blade quality steels are made in small amounts because of the small market for them. Most of the time buying locally is not going to work. But we covered that already also. Good luck finding your suppliers. It really isnt too hard, if you can get more specific as to what you want. Just passing along information, use it as you will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Actually I think it's the opposite: most blade quality steels are made in large ammounts, like 20,000 pounds minimum and the big boys don't want the hassle of selling you 2 pounds. What you need to find are the re-sellers that can buy in large amounts and then sell to a LOT of knifemakers in small amounts. So Knifemaking supply places generally sell small pieces of stock, Aldo in NJ is justly famed for his steel, etc. Large industrial supply stores often sell various steels in small amounts at a premium too. However if you want a weird alloy it will be hard to find it in small amounts, order 20 tons and they will *make* *it* for you, want 2 pounds and you need to find someone that has a drop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonW Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 You could use W2 for the edge material, it contains a bit of tungsten as well as some vanadium, and is one of the steels bladesmith's like to use. You should be able to source some from one of the knife making suppliers online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 McMaster Carr sells small quantities of various tool steels. What specific alloys are you looking for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grem Posted November 19, 2013 Author Share Posted November 19, 2013 How much Damascus have you made? The reason I ask is some alloys will not weld, or will resist welding. Alloys with tungsten is one of them as the tungsten is added to give the steel a "red" hardness. I'm actually not talking about Damascus, I was referring to the Japanese laminating method, as opposed to forge welding everything into a single bar. Also I have found many of the large supppliers will sell to me, but many wont sell to people that waste their time. go in and tell them the alloy you want, and pay and move along. If you come in wanting a metalurgical education, they wont take any time for anything except to show you the door. Are you going to the correct places? for example we have a knife making sections yet you posted this request for information in the Nonferrous section. If you paid as much attention when you called the supppliers, they may actually not have had anything to sell you. I will rellocate it since it seems lost in this section. You asked about a "Tungsten/steel alloy" but didnt state which one. Many supply houses have no clue, they just sell the stuff. Also why do you feel that is a good alloy to use, and ou forgot to statee what type of blade. Most blade quality steels are made in small amounts because of the small market for them. Most of the time buying locally is not going to work. But we covered that already also. Good luck finding your suppliers. It really isnt too hard, if you can get more specific as to what you want. Just passing along information, use it as you will. Actually I posted it in the non-ferrous metal section because I was inquiring if anyone might know of a supplier of more than just Steels and Ferrous metals. As I recall from an earlier post of mine there were a couple individuals that are stationed not far from me. I never once mentioned it was for a knife, sword, axe or any particular tool. I was just looking for a metal supplier. But I thank you for the sarcasm. I was just giving examples, use it as you will. McMaster Carr sells small quantities of various tool steels. What specific alloys are you looking for? This is exactly what I was hoping to find and I thank you, sir. I'm just going to start with scrap metal to get into the flow of doing this, but I wanted to have a source of grade specific metals. This was actually a lot more helpful than I was expecting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 I'm actually not talking about Damascus, I was referring to the Japanese laminating method, as opposed to forge welding everything into a single bar. Actually I posted it in the non-ferrous metal section because I was inquiring if anyone might know of a supplier of more than just Steels and Ferrous metals. As I recall from an earlier post of mine there were a couple individuals that are stationed not far from me. I never once mentioned it was for a knife, sword, axe or any particular tool. I was just looking for a metal supplier. But I thank you for the sarcasm. after your opening post your said My idea is to try and work with a multi layered blade using a soft steel for the core, and for example using a Tungsten/steel alloy for a blade edge. Which post should I believe? first you did state blades, now deny it is blades, and then argue about not wanting damascus but want lamanate the steels. your double talk is confusing. But I gave you honest serious answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grem Posted November 19, 2013 Author Share Posted November 19, 2013 Okay so I've been hunting around for some metal suppliers that would deal in specific metal alloys. I have plenty of scrap yards near by but you can't really gauge the quality of the metal and what it contains. My idea is to try and work with a multi layered blade using a soft steel for the core, and for example using a Tungsten/steel alloy for a blade edge. I've contacted some of the steel suppliers in vegas, a few have said they only deal in carbon steels and SOME titanium alloys, others have said they only deal in bulk steels. Well as I said in the above my idea was to work with a blade. I did say blade. I did not specify type of blade. But the topic of the post was not about making the blade, the topic was looking for a dealer of specific metal alloys. Explaining my idea was to give the more knowledgeable people such as yourself and The doctor there a more specific idea of my intentions so that you would understand I was looking for specific metals for specific purposes, but not in large amounts. Whether it's layers of lamination the concept is the same. Looking for differently graded metal alloys to do the job I intend them to do. Sarcasm is a personal trade as well, as I'm sure you noticed. I mean no disrespect and I do appreciate the answer, but this topic was about finding metal, not about making a knife. I just find answers are much more easily reached with details as opposed to general sentences thrown at a crown expecting a bite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 Some people would say that San Mai is just a very low layer count pattern welded material. Though in traditional japanese bladesmithing the various pieces will have quite a lot of folding and welding to refine the tamahagane from the starting bloom pieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grem Posted November 19, 2013 Author Share Posted November 19, 2013 Of course, but to save myself a lot of time, I'm just going to buy the metal pre-graded. Also considering the fact that I don't have a great deal of space to comfortably build a bloomery or a Tatara in order to make the steel. But the idea being if I were to get my hands on the metals I want with the hardness/toughness I'm looking for already set, just use the lamination techniques they did and still do. If it works then I should make something quite satisfying to me, if I mess it up? Well then I will just fold it all into a Damascus and make something less complicated haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quint Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 Aldo the steel baron sells most of the good quality knife steels, is great to work with, and sells quality steel. I am not sure of anything he doesnt have that you will need except maybe some wrought iron for the outer layers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grem Posted November 19, 2013 Author Share Posted November 19, 2013 The place Gundoc showed me was actually really nice, it doesn't have a really high carbon content like 1090 but it's got an incredible range of metals and supplies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rthibeau Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 also try speedy metals and Kelly Couples, google both for alloys, and Kelly sells knife specific metals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 McMaster has 1095 in flats, as well as the standards O1, W1, A2, 52100, etc. Look closer on the site. I have one of the paper catalogs, and they are listed in there. Also check the machine shop suppliers such as MSC they also have tool steels, and run specials from time to time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grem Posted November 20, 2013 Author Share Posted November 20, 2013 McMaster has 1095 in flats, as well as the standards O1, W1, A2, 52100, etc. Look closer on the site. I have one of the paper catalogs, and they are listed in there. Also check the machine shop suppliers such as MSC they also have tool steels, and run specials from time to time. yeah actually I've found quite a bit on that place. Tools I've been looking for and such it's been a great help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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