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Posted: 6/9/2006 7:11:34 AM EDT
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We have two knives--actually, one is long enough to qualify as a short sword, and the other is almost that long--that we bought at a Ren faire in CO many moons ago. Nevetr intended for true rough work, i.e., survival, fighting (I was stationed at Ft. Cartoon at the time, back when the 4th ID was a joke...) but ran across them in the garage the other day and was wondering how to ID what steel was used on the blades, and what hardness they are finished to. ASS-U-Me-ing it's possible, that is... (I posted about this in the WA HTF about this, and got some help, but the best advice seemed to be that I should ask here...) TIA |
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Some machine shops can measure the hardness. Identifying the alloy will be about impossible without a chemical analysis. Probably the only thing that can be done is determine whether the alloy will harden in water or oil, and that means destroying the knife unless you can find a good bladesmith to anneal and reharden them. If they hold an edge and don't seem terribly brittle, just use them. There is an edge bending test you can do to find out if the edge is too brittle or too soft - do a search on the internet for instructions. The down side is the blade will be ruined if the temper isn't right, so it doesn't break from brittleness or stay bent from inadequate temper. Support your local custom knife maker and buy some new knives. |
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