April 24, 20224 yr Hey long time no see! Got hurt and had to put the blacksmithing stuff away for a while. I was not hurt from doing any blacksmithing and it was nothing major. I can't use the forge yet but I pulled out my grinder. I needed a little poker. I made one out of some random scraps I had but the point is a bit brittle enough to not grind it thinner. Do you guys know of a good stainless? It doesn't need to hold a point just not break from minor thumb pressure. I'm looking at a max 1.5mm point that holds for 3/4 an inch. Preferably one that doesn't need heat treating. Ps: yes I know I used two different measurement standards Edit: I forgot to mention I found 414 stainless on the internet as a good choice but I can't find anyone who sells it. So I'm at a loss.
April 24, 20224 yr What are you poking? How important is the corrosion resistance to you? There are many different types of stainless out there. The most common austenitic alloys are 304 and 316 and if you don't plan on doing any sort of heat treatment anyway it seems like a decent place to start... Maybe? It will be delicate at ~1/16" though.. Regardless, keep in mind you'll have to passivate the stainless after grinding to bring back it's stainless-ness. I use a 10% by weight solution of citric acid in water. Heat the water to ~140F, stir in the citric acid and soak the part for ~7 minutes. EZPZ.
April 24, 20224 yr Author Thanks Frazer Higher the corrosion resistance the better. It will be around lots of citric fruits. Thanks for the heads up about the passivate! As for what I'm stabbing fruits and thin aluminum mostly.
April 24, 20224 yr Ah, so a skewer of sorts. 316L is what we use at work for long term exposure to salt water. We electropolish everything, but that's overkill for what you're doing. I hand sanded the chopsticks I made with 304 (which is less resistant than 316 which is less resistant than 316L) and they have been fine so far, dishwasher and all. The higher the grit the better, but I think I stopped at 1500.
May 3, 20224 yr Would some 316L TIG filler rod from your local welding shop suffice? Comes in various thicknesses and they may just hand you a piece once you start chatting. I've some 3/32" here but would shipping would cost more than the filler rod. Also wouldn't stabbing citrus fruit technically work to continually passivate from the citric acid content in the fruit?
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