Why is pre-hardened steel good for making knives blades?
Knife Blade Materials such as pre-hardened steel, quenched and hardened by the producer, offer superior hardness and wear resistance compared to ordinary hot-rolled steel. Despite being more expensive, pre-hardened steel is popular among knife manufacturers for its strength and durability. In this article, we explore the benefits of using pre-hardened steel for knife blades.
What is pre-hardened steel?
Pre-hardened steel has been heat treated before delivery to make its hardness meet the use requirements. This treatment usually includes quenching and tempering to form martensite and tempered troostite, thereby improving the hardness and wear resistance of the steel. Therefore, its hardness has reached the use requirements and can be used directly without further heat treatment.
In the production process such as hot rolling or forging, the residual heat in the high-temperature state is utilized for quenching and hardening treatment, e.g. rolling quenching and forging quenching. Hardening by quenching can make a significant improvement in the properties of steel.
Pre-hardened steel is usually used in the manufacture of molds, tools machine parts, etc. They have excellent wear resistance, heat resistance, and corrosion resistance, and can meet the requirements of high precision and high strength.
Application of pre-hardened steel
Pre-hardened steel is widely used in mold manufacturing, tool manufacturing, aerospace, medical devices, and other fields. The following are specific application areas of pre-hardened materials, and mold is the most widely used.
Mold manufacturing
Pre-hardened materials are often used to make plastic molds, die-casting molds, etc., which can improve the service life and processing accuracy of molds.
The Advantages of using pre-hardened steel in mold manufacturing
The hardness of pre-hardened steel is usually between HRC40-50. This hardness can effectively improve the wear resistance and corrosion resistance of the mold and extend the service life. At the same time, pre-hardening technology can improve the tensile strength and fatigue resistance of steel, reduce the stress concentration of the mold during use, and reduce problems such as deformation and breakage of the mold. Pre-hardened steel has better cutting performance and processing stability, which can improve the processing efficiency and quality of the mold, and can also meet various complex shapes and fine processing requirements in mold manufacturing. After forging and heat treatment in a professional factory, pre-hardened steel is supplied to the market with a specific hardness. Users can directly process it into a mold for use, thus avoiding heat treatment deformation.
Tool manufacturing
In the manufacture of tools such as knives and gauges, pre-hardened materials can provide the required hardness and wear resistance, and reduce the wear and deformation of tools.
Aerospace
In the field of aerospace, pre-hardened materials are used to make aircraft parts, spacecraft models, etc., which require high strength and heat resistance.
Medical equipment
In the manufacture of medical equipment, pre-hardened steel is used to make high-precision medical models and tools, which require high precision and corrosion resistance.
Process of making knives in a traditional way
Selecting material and design:
Select suitable steel materials for knives such as carbon steel, stainless steel, tool steel, and so on. Design the knife drawing including shape, dimensions, and cutting edge angles.
Cutting the steel material:
Cut the raw material into small pieces according to the data of drawings.
Processing shape:
Use a cutting machine to process the small pieces of steel, remove extra material, and get the general shape of the knife blades.
Heat treatment:
Heat treatment is an important step. Through quenching, annealing, and other processes, the knives achieve the required hardness and toughness.
Finishing:
Use a milling machine, lathe, grinder, and other machines to process the knives, including the edge of the grinding, shank, and so on. Use a grinding wheel grinder and grinding stone to polish the surface of the knives, making them smooth and precise enough to meet the requirements.
Assembling:
Assemble the shank and the blade of the knife, and use steel brazing or welding to fix the two together.
The advantage of using pre-hardened steel for knives
There are many different kinds of pre-hardened steels available on the market, so you can choose the material, specification, and hardness according to the needs of the knives. When using pre-hardened steel to produce knife blades, the hardness of the raw material has already reached the required hardness, so heat treatment is not necessary. Although the price of pre-hardened steel is more expensive than ordinary hot rolled material compared to the same specification, it can effectively reduce the cost and improve the production efficiency for those small manufacturers who do not have heat treatment equipment or lack experience in heat treatment.
Conclusion
In general, pre-hardened steel not only simplifies the heat treatment process but also can save energy, shorten the time, suitable for knife blade materials. When mass production, it is recommended to use ordinary hot rolled steel and heat treatment. This situation is more suitable for large production volumes, heat treatment equipment, and the experience of manufacturers, and is conducive to reducing costs, from the raw material to control the quality. Manufacturers usually rely on different products and production methods, the choice of raw materials, and processing methods. Although the market has a lot of materials to choose from, but only suitable for manufacturers of raw materials is the best raw material.
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