San Mai Steel Information & Composition
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26C3 Heat Treat Information:
Austenitize: It is critical to not exceed the maximum austenitize temperature. If you overshoot the maximum temperature by a small amount, toughness will go down dramatically.
Heat to 1,475°F. Soak for ten minutes.
Quench: The mill recommends quenching in water. We used Parks 50 with excellent results. The as quenched hardness we measured was a little under HRC 68.
Note: We do not recommend water quenching for damascus billets containing 26C3.
Temper: Temper twice for two hours each time.
Use the graph below to select your temperatures:
B/U: Bohler / Uddeholm
Bohler and Uddeholm are two large steel companies based in Europe. Both companies make high quality steel alloys and are subsidiaries of Voestalpine.
Cross Grain:
Steel is toughest when it is cut with the grain. However, we occasionally get pieces that were cut across the grain. We call this “cross grain”. The cross grain billets are discounted.
CRA: Cold Rolled Annealed
Cold rolled steel has a nice finish. The surface is bright and smooth. It can be darker on the edges of the sheet showing some heat coloring from annealing. Cold rolled alloys have minimal runout. The steel is annealed (soft).
CRHT: Cold Rolled Heat Treated
Cold rolled heat treated applies to only some 15N20. The steel is heat treated to approximately HRC 45. This alloy is used extensively for sawmill bandsaw blades. The sawmills require the steel be heat treated.
Even though this 15N20 is heat treated, it is not full hard. It is easy to work with metal working tools. When drilling this 15N20, It is important to keep constant pressure and use a lubricant.
ESR: Electroslag Remelt
Electroslag remelting is a process of remelting and refining a steel alloy to make it cleaner. The result is very clean steel. The steel is annealed (soft).
FG: Flat Ground
The AKS definition of flat ground is +- .001 inch runout across 12 inches. The surface of the steel is ground until it is bare steel with a uniform grind pattern. The front and back of the billet are parallel.
FGHT: Flat Ground Heat Treated
Flat ground heat treated applies to only some 15N20. The steel is heat treated to approximately HRC 45. This alloy is used extensively for sawmill bandsaw blades. The sawmills require the steel be heat treated.
Even though this 15N20 is heat treated, it is not full hard. It is easy to work with metal working tools. When drilling this 15N20, It is important to keep constant pressure and use a lubricant.
The AKS definition of flat ground is +- .001 inch runout across 12 inches. The surface of the steel is ground until it is bare steel with a uniform grind pattern. The front and back of the billet are parallel.
HRA: Hot Rolled Annealed
Hot rolled steel has mill scale and is dirty on the surface of the steel. The mill scale is easily removed by multiple processes such as pickling or sand blasting. The steel is annealed (soft).
HRDA: Hot Rolled Descaled Annealed
The steel is heated and run between rollers to achieve the desired thickness. As the steel cools, scale forms on the surface of the sheet. The scale is removed by sand blasting or shot blasting. After blasting, the surface of the sheet has a rough finish. The steel is annealed (soft).
HRPA: Hot Rolled Pickled Annealed
The steel is heated and run between rollers to achieve the desired thickness. As the steel cools, scale forms on the surface of the sheet. The scale is removed by immersing the sheet in a bath of acid. The process is called pickling. The acid removes the scale. After pickling, the surface of the sheet has a rough finish. The steel is annealed (soft).
PESR: Pressurized Electroslag Remelt
PG: Precision Ground
The AKS definition of precision ground is less than .001 inch runout across 12 inches.
PM: Particle Metallurgy
Alloys using particle metallurgy processes are made from powdered metal. The powder is put in a can and pressed into a solid billet in a hot isostatic press.
CPM: Crucible Particle Metallurgy
Crucible is a steel company based in USA. They produce multiple steel alloys. Some of the alloys are made using the Crucible Particle Metallurgy i.e. CPM process.
The first step in the CPM process is heating the steel until it is a liquid. The liquid is sprayed through a small nozzle and forms into a powder. The steel powder is packed into a steel container that is welded shut. The container containing the powder is placed into a hot isostatic press or HIP. The HIP heats the container and compresses the steel powder into a solid billet. After the billet cools the container is removed. The remaining billet has a consistent composition.
The major advantage of the CPM process is producing alloys that would not be possible using traditional steel production processes.
CG: Cross Grain
Steel is toughest when it is cut with the grain. However, we occasionally get pieces that were cut across the grain. We call this “cross grain”. The cross grain billets are discounted.