is there a difference in blade quality depending on how it was made; specifically heating metal up and hammering out a blade shape then filing and sharpening it, or just cutting the blade out of a large sheet of metal and sharpening it?
In: 4
Yes there is. Thermal treatments are very important as they can change some properties depending of how it’s done. The heat allows the atoms to arrange in different ways. For example tempering increases the hardness of the steel.
The short answer is: Yes, there’s a whole science, called metallurgy, devoted to the mechanics and effectiveness of metal objects like knives.
The long answer is very much yes! There are an absolute ton of complex science and engineering that goes into a good blade. Here are just some basic things I know as a laymen. Steel specifically can be harder or softer depending on impurities(like carbon) in the material or whether or not they’ve been “work-hardened”. Work-hardening is the process in which metal is subjected to strain, usually by hammering or by heating and then cooling quickly, to harden the metal. The ideal knife has a really hard edge and a softer “spine”(the back of the knife opposite the edge). A harder edge stays sharper longer and a soft spine keeps the whole blade from cracking.
Yes there absolutely is. But it comes more down to the hardness of the material. In my experience blades that were stamped from a sheets usually use a softer material then forged blades. Additionally forged stell usually get tempered by quenching it in oil to increase the materials hardness. This is a step that cheap stamped knifes often skip.
You can get both types to be insanely sharp but that knife with the harder blade will last longer. Even an insanely sharp knife from a soft material will go dull really quick.
If the same material and heat treat is used, the only difference between a forged blade and one cut from a sheet and ground to shape (knife makers call this stock removal method) is that the forged one has lost some carbon.
The main advantage to forging is you use less material and can get certain shapes far more easily. Stock removal requires a lot of abrasives, wastes material, and makes a lot of dust (wear a respirator!).
Latest Answers