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TECHNICAL INFORMATION

If you have not purchased your steel from us, we make ABSOLUTELY no guarantees that this information will be effective on the material you have. Damasteel is a patented process and there are other, cheaper and similar products out there with which this information may not work.
We are the only factory authorized dealer of Damasteel in the United States, (although Jerry McClure and Texas Knifemakers carry our stock)...
if you buy it somewhere else, who knows what you are getting!?

Advantage of RSP vs. Conventional Steels

The reason why the RSP steel give superior performance is found in the solidification structure. The coarse carbide structure of the conventional steels limits the fracture strength. The carbide clusters act like fracture initiation sites on a certain stress level. The substantially smaller carbides in the rapidly solidified material inhibit fracture initiation until the stress level is nearly doubled. The powder steels have around twice the fracture strength of conventional steels.

The best combination of hardness and strength is found mostly in the rapidly solidified powder steels.

Composition

C (Carbon) Si (Silicon) Mn (Manganese) Cr (Chromium) Mo (Molybdenum) V (Vanadium) %
I RWL34 1.05 .50 .50 14 4 .2 Bright Color
II PMC27 .60 .50 .50 13.5 - - Dark Etching

Heat Treatment

Hardening Temp Tempering Temp Time RWL34 PMC27
I 1050 C (1920 F) 220 C (430 F) 2 hours 59 53
II 1050 C (1920 F) 175 C (345 F) 2 hours 62 54
III 1080 C (1980 F) 220 C (430 F) 2 hours 58 56
IV 1080 C (1980 F) 175 C (345 F) 2 hours 63 58
V 1100 C (2010 F) 175 C (345 F) 2 hours 63.5 60.5
* The treatment IV and V include deep cooling -80 C (-140 F) after both hardening and tempering. Time 15 minutes. Low temperature tempering is recommended for best corrosion properties.

1. Heat to hardening temperature, hold for 10-15 minutes. You can use either an air or an oil quench, cooling to room temperature.

2. Tempering only 1 time for 2 hours.

Etching
Etching Acid Appr. time
(minutes) Etching color
RWL34 Etching color
PMC27
I H2SO4 30% (Sulphuric Acid) 5 Bright Gray
Soap 0.1%
II H2SO4 30% (Sulphuric Acid) 5 Bright Black
HCL04 7 % (Perchloric Acid)
III HCL 37% (Hydrochloric Acid) 5 Bright Black
* Many makers are using muratic acid, but see directions below before proceeding

1. Finish the steel to at least 600 grit, 1200 is even better.

2. Light polish with a soft buff or hand polish.

3. Clean well with soap and warm water, or windex.

Alcohol and acetone are degreasers and do not work well as cleaning agents.
Some makers have tried ferric chloride (Radio Shack Etch.). This does not
work well with Damasteel as both metals are hard and this gives less than
satisfactory results.

4. Many makers are using warm muratic acid for the etch (as it comes from Ace Hardware, do not
dilute) on straight knives or folders, that do not need sections masked, and are getting great
results.

5. For folders that need masking, use nail polish. Use a bright color. The bright colored nail polish
serves two purposes. The first is to stop the etching where you don't want it. The second is to
show where you have possibly blocked the etch you want.

On folders, sulphuric acid is recommended,
because muratic acid tries to eat up under the nail polish.

6. Let the nail polish cure for several hours.

7. Use sulphuric acid, 30% with distilled water.

Always add the acid to the water. NEVER pour water into the acid!

8. Etch 5 - 15 minutes depending on the effect you want.

9. Neutralize in baking soda and water, or ammonia.

10. Depending on the desired effect you can use the etch as is, buff lightly, or hand polish the
top with 2000+ grit.

Color

The tempering color comes from interference in a thin transparent oxide layer, just like oil on water. When tempering damasteel, the oxide growth rate is different on the two components. That results in different colors, and blue-red pattern can be developed on the metal surface.

The martensitic stainless damasteel can be heat treated and colored by tempering by the following procedure. This recipe is suitable for knife blades and gives around 59 HRC hardness. Observe that the high temperature tempering deteriorates the corrosion resistance. The oxide layer must therefore be lubricated from time to time.

1. Hardening. High hardening temperatures, 1080 C (1975 F). Time at temperature: 10 minutes.

2. Deep freezing to -60 C (-75 F). Some minutes until the piece is cooled through. Freezing in
liquid carbon oxide or nitrogen is possible, but there is a risk of thermal cracks.

3. Tempering two times one hour in 510 C (950 F). Air cooling to room temperature between the
temperings.

4. Deep-freezing according to point 2 (above).

5. The blade is fine ground and polished. Preferably wet grinding. Avoid overheated spots.

6. Etch according to instructions above.

7. Careful degreasing in acetone and then clean with soap and warm water. Avoid fingerprints
on the surface.

8. Tempering two times at twenty minutes in 510 C (950 F). The time must be tested
experimentally because the furnace type, air draft, etc. gives large differences.

Grinding and Geometry

To get a dense pattern structure, blade grinding can be done so that many layers are cut through. The more layers crossed, the denser the pattern which is formed. Different orientations of grinding result in various surface patterns.

Sometimes different patterns can be cut out from the same bar. A few principles are described below, (using Odin's eye, as an example) and of course, the basic type of pattern plays an important role.

1. Where a groove is deepest the surface is parallel to a layer, and an 'eye' is formed.

2. In the middle of the edge phase, the grindings cut parallel to a layer and an 'eye' is formed.

3. When cleaving the bar in the middle for making knife blades, different patterns are formed. Edge
outwards results in 'eyes'. Edge inwards results in 'waves'.

Rules of Thumb

There are two basic rules of thumb:

1. When changing over from a conventional steel to an RSP steel, the hardness can be increased
max. 3 HRC without losing toughness measured as fracture energy in both compressive and
bend loaded edge.

2. The improved mechanical properties can be utilized by a max. 3 degree edge angle without any
loss of edge strength.

Forging

1160 - 1050 Degrees C (2120 - 1920 Degrees F)

Melting starts at 1220 Degrees C (2230 Degrees F), which means that the material is sensitive to overheating. A good control of the heating temperature is needed. Electric or gas fired furnaces are recommended. Compared to normal low alloy carbon steels, the Martensitic stainless steels have higher, almost doubled deformation stresses. Hand forging must therefore be performed on relatively small dimensions. Long heating times lead to decarburization and scale formation.

Slow cooling after the hot working prevents crack formation at the Martensite formation temperature at 200 Degrees C (400 Degrees F). Cool under vermiculite or other heat insulating material.

Soft Annealing

Because of the cracking risk, no cutting or machining should be done after hot working until the material is annealed. The material should be annealed for 5 hours at 750 - 780 Degrees C (1380 - 1440 Degrees F). The bar material delivered from DAMASTEEL is annealed below 300 HV.

If you want more technical information, please contact us at Damasteel.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Advantage of RSP vs. Conventional Steels

The best combination of hardness and strength is found mostly in the rapidly solidified powder steels.

Composition

C (Carbon) Si (Silicon) Mn (Manganese) Cr (Chromium) Mo (Molybdenum) V (Vanadium) % I RWL34 1.05 .50 .50 14 4 .2 Bright Color II PMC27 .60 .50 .50 13.5 - - Dark Etching

Heat Treatment

1. Heat to hardening temperature, hold for 10-15 minutes. You can use either an air or an oil quench, cooling to room temperature.

2. Tempering only 1 time for 2 hours.

1. Finish the steel to at least 600 grit, 1200 is even better.

2. Light polish with a soft buff or hand polish.

3. Clean well with soap and warm water, or windex.

Alcohol and acetone are degreasers and do not work well as cleaning agents. Some makers have tried ferric chloride (Radio Shack Etch.). This does not work well with Damasteel as both metals are hard and this gives less than satisfactory results.

4. Many makers are using warm muratic acid for the etch (as it comes from Ace Hardware, do not dilute) on straight knives or folders, that do not need sections masked, and are getting great results.

5. For folders that need masking, use nail polish. Use a bright color. The bright colored nail polish serves two purposes. The first is to stop the etching where you don't want it. The second is to show where you have possibly blocked the etch you want.

On folders, sulphuric acid is recommended, because muratic acid tries to eat up under the nail polish.

6. Let the nail polish cure for several hours.

7. Use sulphuric acid, 30% with distilled water.

Always add the acid to the water. NEVER pour water into the acid!

8. Etch 5 - 15 minutes depending on the effect you want.

9. Neutralize in baking soda and water, or ammonia.

10. Depending on the desired effect you can use the etch as is, buff lightly, or hand polish the top with 2000+ grit.

Color

The tempering color comes from interference in a thin transparent oxide layer, just like oil on water. When tempering damasteel, the oxide growth rate is different on the two components. That results in different colors, and blue-red pattern can be developed on the metal surface.

1. Hardening. High hardening temperatures, 1080 C (1975 F). Time at temperature: 10 minutes.

2. Deep freezing to -60 C (-75 F). Some minutes until the piece is cooled through. Freezing in liquid carbon oxide or nitrogen is possible, but there is a risk of thermal cracks.

3. Tempering two times one hour in 510 C (950 F). Air cooling to room temperature between the temperings.

4. Deep-freezing according to point 2 (above).

5. The blade is fine ground and polished. Preferably wet grinding. Avoid overheated spots.

6. Etch according to instructions above.

7. Careful degreasing in acetone and then clean with soap and warm water. Avoid fingerprints on the surface.

8. Tempering two times at twenty minutes in 510 C (950 F). The time must be tested experimentally because the furnace type, air draft, etc. gives large differences.

Grinding and Geometry

To get a dense pattern structure, blade grinding can be done so that many layers are cut through. The more layers crossed, the denser the pattern which is formed. Different orientations of grinding result in various surface patterns.

Sometimes different patterns can be cut out from the same bar. A few principles are described below, (using Odin's eye, as an example) and of course, the basic type of pattern plays an important role.

1. Where a groove is deepest the surface is parallel to a layer, and an 'eye' is formed.

2. In the middle of the edge phase, the grindings cut parallel to a layer and an 'eye' is formed.

3. When cleaving the bar in the middle for making knife blades, different patterns are formed. Edge outwards results in 'eyes'. Edge inwards results in 'waves'.

Rules of Thumb

There are two basic rules of thumb:

1. When changing over from a conventional steel to an RSP steel, the hardness can be increased max. 3 HRC without losing toughness measured as fracture energy in both compressive and bend loaded edge.

2. The improved mechanical properties can be utilized by a max. 3 degree edge angle without any loss of edge strength.

Forging

1160 - 1050 Degrees C (2120 - 1920 Degrees F)

Slow cooling after the hot working prevents crack formation at the Martensite formation temperature at 200 Degrees C (400 Degrees F). Cool under vermiculite or other heat insulating material.

Soft Annealing

Because of the cracking risk, no cutting or machining should be done after hot working until the material is annealed. The material should be annealed for 5 hours at 750 - 780 Degrees C (1380 - 1440 Degrees F). The bar material delivered from DAMASTEEL is annealed below 300 HV.

If you want more technical information, please contact us at Damasteel.

C (Carbon) Si (Silicon) Mn (Manganese) Cr (Chromium) Mo (Molybdenum) V (Vanadium) %
I RWL34 1.05 .50 .50 14 4 .2 Bright Color
II PMC27 .60 .50 .50 13.5 - - Dark Etching

Alcohol and acetone are degreasers and do not work well as cleaning agents.
Some makers have tried ferric chloride (Radio Shack Etch.). This does not
work well with Damasteel as both metals are hard and this gives less than
satisfactory results.

4. Many makers are using warm muratic acid for the etch (as it comes from Ace Hardware, do not
dilute) on straight knives or folders, that do not need sections masked, and are getting great
results.

5. For folders that need masking, use nail polish. Use a bright color. The bright colored nail polish
serves two purposes. The first is to stop the etching where you don't want it. The second is to
show where you have possibly blocked the etch you want.

On folders, sulphuric acid is recommended,
because muratic acid tries to eat up under the nail polish.

10. Depending on the desired effect you can use the etch as is, buff lightly, or hand polish the
top with 2000+ grit.

2. Deep freezing to -60 C (-75 F). Some minutes until the piece is cooled through. Freezing in
liquid carbon oxide or nitrogen is possible, but there is a risk of thermal cracks.

3. Tempering two times one hour in 510 C (950 F). Air cooling to room temperature between the
temperings.

7. Careful degreasing in acetone and then clean with soap and warm water. Avoid fingerprints
on the surface.

8. Tempering two times at twenty minutes in 510 C (950 F). The time must be tested
experimentally because the furnace type, air draft, etc. gives large differences.

3. When cleaving the bar in the middle for making knife blades, different patterns are formed. Edge
outwards results in 'eyes'. Edge inwards results in 'waves'.

1. When changing over from a conventional steel to an RSP steel, the hardness can be increased
max. 3 HRC without losing toughness measured as fracture energy in both compressive and
bend loaded edge.

2. The improved mechanical properties can be utilized by a max. 3 degree edge angle without any
loss of edge strength.