[Rhodes22-list] New Toy

[Roger Pihlaja]

Gentlemen,

This is college, not the public high school.  Pocket knives are common on
the SVSU campus.  But, I also wasn't stuupid about it & go around showing
off the knife to everyone.  Dr. Schilling, my research project advisor &
several other mechanical engineering students were with me in the SVSU
Materials Lab.  The other students were already in the lab, testing other
samples, when Dr. Schilling & I started doing our cutting tests.  Naturally,
the knife generated a lot of interest.  Everyone was impressed with the
performance.  When the tests were over, I folded the knife up & put in my
backpack for the rest of the day.  No, I don't think the school
administration knew about it; but, I don't think it would have been a
problem either.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

----- Original Message -----
From: "kroposki" <kroposki at innova.net>
To: "'The Rhodes 22 mail list'" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2004 7:14 AM
Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] New Toy


>
>
> Bob,
>
> Especially a sharp knife.  I wonder if he school authorities did
> not miss this.  Small wonder Roger is still working on his degree.
>
> Roger,
>
> How come you did not first get a distributorship on these?  It
> has been a long time since I had a really good pocket knife.  Makes me
> think about one that works.
>
> Ed K
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
> [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Bob Keller
> Sent: Monday, March 15, 2004 11:38 PM
> To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
> Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] New Toy
>
> Roger,
> In Georgia you would have been expelled for taking a knife to school...
> Bob K
>
>
> >From: "Roger Pihlaja" <cen09402 at centurytel.net>
> >Reply-To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> >To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> >Subject: [Rhodes22-list] New Toy
> >Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 21:02:10 -0500
> >
> >Hi Everybody,
> >
> >Well, I'm ready for a new topic.  I just received a new toy today that
> is
> >totally cool.  The March, 2004, Volume 30, Number 5 & 6 double issue of
>
> >"Practical Sailor" magazine ran a comparison test on sailor's rigging
> >knives.  They rated the Spyderco SALT 1 as a best buy.  The thing about
>
> >this knife that caught my eye was the description of the H1
> precipitation
> >hardened stainless steel in the blade.  In my ME250, Engineering
> Materials,
> >class last semester, we learned about precipitation hardening of
> aluminum
> >alloys.  Precipitation hardening is how the really strong, hard, yet
> >ductile aircraft aluminum alloys like Al 7075-T6 are made.  I had never
>
> >heard of anything analogous in a stainless steel alloy and I was
> curious.
> >
> >So, I went & looked up the properties of H1 stainless steel in the
> >metallurgical literature at the SVSU library.  The H1 alloy is produced
> by
> >the Myodo Foundry in Japan and it appears to be a real materials
> >breakthrough.  Normally, with knife blade materials, there is a
> tradeoff
> >between the hardness & ability to keep a sharp edge of high carbon tool
>
> >steels and the corrosion resistance and nonmagnetic properties of the
> 300
> >series stainless steels.  Up until now, it was impossible to have both
> >corrosion resistance and a really sharp blade in the same alloy.  The
> H1
> >alloy works differently.  Precipitation hardening refers to the
> formation
> >of precipitates or particles of ceramic intermetallic ferric nitride
> and
> >chromium nitride compounds.  These intermetallic compounds are soluble
> in
> >the base alloy composition above a certain critical temperature,
> allowing
> >the metal to be hot-worked into the shape of the blade.  As the metal
> is
> >cooled according to a proprietary heat treatment schedule, the
> >intermetallic compounds become insoluble, drop out of solution, &
> nucleate
> >into tiny particles.  For reasons I won't get into, these particles
> tend to
> >preferentially nucleate & grow along grain boundaries in the metal.
> The
> >presence of these particles distorts the face centered cubic (FCC)
> crystal
> >lattice structure of the base alloy & tends to lock adjacent metallic
> >grains together.  Think of the particles as being sort of like the key
> that
> >fits into the keyway that locks a pulley onto a shaft.  Having the
> grain
> >boundaries of the metal locked together makes the metal much more
> resistant
> >to deformation and yielding.  (i.e. it is much harder)  But, it has not
>
> >been work hardened or tempered like heat treated high carbon steel
> blades
> >must be.  The H1 alloy has a low carbon content and the base alloy
> grains
> >have an overall austenitic microstructure. (i.e. nonmagnetic and
> corrosion
> >resistant like 300 series stainless steel)  The H1 alloy has a hardness
> and
> >yield strength comparable to a high carbon tool steel while maintaining
> the
> >overall corrosion resistance, ductility, ultimate elongation, and
> >nonmagnetic properties of a 300 series stainless steel.  As I said, the
> H1
> >alloy appears to be a genuine materials breakthrough!
> >
> >Naturally, I had to have one!  I ordered the knife on-line from The
> Knife
> >Center:
> >
> >www.knifecenter.com
> >
> >SP88SBK Spyderco SALT H1 Stainless 3" Serrated Blade Black Zytel
> Handle:
> >$49.95 + S&H
> >
> >The Salt 1 is available with either a plain or a serrated edge blade.
> I
> >choose the serrated edge because it was recommended by Practical Sailor
> for
> >quick 1-pass cutting of tough lines.  Note: By the standards of high
> end
> >blades, $50 is not a particularly expensive knife.
> >
> >Anyway, my new toy arrived via UPS over the weekend & I took it to
> school
> >today.  In the materials lab, we did some cutting experiments on tough,
>
> >exotic materials like Kevlar, Spectra, and Carbon Fiber.  With the
> factory
> >supplied edge, my new Salt 1 is so sharp, it's almost scary!  It cut
> thru
> >several layers of stacked woven prepreg cloth like butter & these were
> >materials that are a lot of work to cut a single layer with a good pair
> of
> >scissors.  Under the microscope at 100X magnification, there was no
> >detectable wear on the edge before vs. after cutting these materials.
> The
> >hardness of the blade checks out at >75 on the Rockwell C scale!  The
> edge
> >is sharpenable on a good Arkansas stone with cutting oil, although with
>
> >quite a bit more effort than I am used to with even high carbon tool
> steel
> >blades.
> >
> >The Salt 1 rigging knife is a folding, locking design.  It has a belt
> clip
> >& is deployable with either hand.  Note that the H1 alloy is also
> available
> >in fixed blade versions with a sheath.  I'm strongly considering
> getting a
> >fillet knife and a hunting knife.  If you have anyone on your gift list
>
> >that uses & appreciates really good cutting tools, they will absolutely
>
> >love something like this!  It will instantly become their favorite
> knife.
> >
> >Roger Pihlaja
> >S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> >__________________________________________________
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