Initial Impressions of the New Proto Cut

[Phil Wilson]

I am calling it Proto Cut until It gets an official name

I got some sample to work with and have done several blades through final heat treat and just short of a working knife to do some field testing. A new grade like this one needs to be friendly to work with and that is what I was looking for. The sample was initial ground so there was no scale to worry about. Profile and rough bevel grinding with a 50 grit belt went nice and easy, same as Magna Cut for example. The sample came with a simple data sheet and so without the foundry details I used my sequence for CPM S90V.
Pre heat and Austentize @ 2140, hold for 20 minutes
Plate quench down to room temperature
Direct to LN2. Hold for 4 hours
Temper @ 300 to 450 F for 1 hour 3 times aiming for a final aim result of 63 to start with.
I did 2 long thin fillet knives and saw no tendency for warpage.
Upon final grind I will be tuning for toughness, corrosion resistance and edge holding balance. I can compare my results with the final detailed foundry data sheet and Larrin's CATRA and impact toughness information that will be coming as the grade is officially introduced.I know this is more information than some on this forum who just want to buy the knife and use it. The objective is to provide a starting point on the usability and workability for both custom makers and larger makers who will be trying and testing this photo type grade. I would say this is "user, maker" friendly and is pretty much the same in that category as its Magna Cut relative.
Phil

[sal]

Hi Phil,

Thanx much for chiming in. I'm looking forward to your thoughts on this.

We've done a lot of testing in Golden, which is ongoing. I'm using a Mule every day for kitchen and general cutting. So far it's been quite impressive. We've done Corrosion tests in Golden, but Eric is now planning to do some Real World Testing in Salt Water.

Thanx much to Larrin for another well thought out blade steel,.

sal

[Mk-211]

Wasn't the nickname MagnaTuff?

[Enactive]

Wasn't the nickname MagnaTuff?

In this case, I'd defer to Phil.

[Mk-211]

I defer to this thread, page 6.

viewtopic.php?t=97308

Bradford knives made the comment, calling it MagnaTuff

[Mushroom]

They're both, admittedly, made up names - it's not something to get hung up on right now...

[Enactive]

its all funsies until the trade name appears for real.

[Mk-211]

At this rate, Dr. Thomas might have to have a poll, for the best name.

[p_atrick]

At this rate, Dr. Thomas might have to have a poll, for the best name.

Steely McSteelface

[Synov]

*cough cough*

[Wandering_About]

Looking forward to Phil's continued reports on this steel!

[Larrin]

Thanks Phil!

[msum]

Does the Crucible situation have any bearing on the prototyping and the eventual (hopefully) production?

Does it mean it won’t necessarily end up as a CPM steel but another foundry might produce it?

[Cycletroll]

Thank you Phil! I for one appreciate the benefit of your experience.

[sal]

Does the Crucible situation have any bearing on the prototyping and the eventual (hopefully) production?

Does it mean it won’t necessarily end up as a CPM steel but another foundry might produce it?

Hi Msum,

That's what we're all waiting to find out?

sal

[abbazaba]

Great info and thread, thanks Phil! Looking forward to your developments.

[Doc Dan]

As more information comes in, it would be nice to have it updated here.

[gooeytek]

I am calling it Proto Cut until It gets an official name

I got some sample to work with and have done several blades through final heat treat and just short of a working knife to do some field testing. A new grade like this one needs to be friendly to work with and that is what I was looking for. The sample was initial ground so there was no scale to worry about. Profile and rough bevel grinding with a 50 grit belt went nice and easy, same as Magna Cut for example. The sample came with a simple data sheet and so without the foundry details I used my sequence for CPM S90V.
Pre heat and Austentize @ 2140, hold for 20 minutes
Plate quench down to room temperature
Direct to LN2. Hold for 4 hours
Temper @ 300 to 450 F for 1 hour 3 times aiming for a final aim result of 63 to start with.
I did 2 long thin fillet knives and saw no tendency for warpage.
Upon final grind I will be tuning for toughness, corrosion resistance and edge holding balance. I can compare my results with the final detailed foundry data sheet and Larrin's CATRA and impact toughness information that will be coming as the grade is officially introduced.I know this is more information than some on this forum who just want to buy the knife and use it. The objective is to provide a starting point on the usability and workability for both custom makers and larger makers who will be trying and testing this photo type grade. I would say this is "user, maker" friendly and is pretty much the same in that category as its Magna Cut relative.
Phil

Seamount Knifeworks has spoken. If Phil likes it, I want it. That said, Phil's part of the reason why S90V is my preferred steel.

[Phil Wilson]

Thanks Sal and all

The workability of a new steel is important given some history of earlier grades during initial introduction. CPM S90V (420V) for example was a bit stubborn in heat treat due to the high vanadium content. It has now been tweaked for a good snappy response. Others like CPM S30v took a few years to optimize the heat treat as we remember. This new prototype has good response and should be easy to match up to individual equipment for the best result. It will be optimized by Shawn (BBB) for example to get the very most out of it for his design conditions. We will wait for Larrin's CATRA and toughness data for more precise measurement of performance and balance and where it fits into the amazing list of steels we now have to work with. I look forward to cutting a bunch of rope, using it in the kitchen and hopefully fillet some salmon with it. Thanks to Dr Larrin for your work and science based knife steel information.

Phil

[p_atrick]

The emphasis placed on workability is not surprising. This is from Larrin's conclusion about M398:

I’m personally not all that interested in yet another high edge retention steel that sacrifices toughness, ease in sharpening, and workability.