Liner Lock material

[Bernez]

Hi,

Which Stainless Steel would be adequate for a Liner Lock?
I mean for the liners. I know, everybody will say "use TITANIUM". I have some Ti, but I want to give it a try with some Stainless.
So, what's good? 416? 420? 440C? and do I have to harden it?
If yes, how?

Thanks,
Bernez

[Ray Rogers]

Just to show you how very correct you are about what people will say, I offer this advice:

Use TITANIUM, only TITANIUM, nothing but TITANIUM ever!!!

But, that's my opinion If you must suffer through learning this lesson the hard way then 416 or 440C will do just fine. Yes, you have to heat treat it if you want it to be anywhere near as strong as TITANIUM. It must be tempered to spring hardness which is somewhere around Rc 50 give or take a couple of points. Some experimentation will be required before you achieve the best results but almost anything you do will make a spring that functions. It will be more trouble and not work as well as .......... anyway, you get the idea......

[Bernez]

Ray,

I did expect such an answer . But thanks for the info.
BTW, you didn't mention 420. I believe it's also called (for what I found on the Internet) Spring Steel. But is it of no use for liners?

Bernez

[Ray Rogers]

420 would work also I believe. I didn't think of it because I don't recall ever seeing it listed from any of the usual knife supply houses. About the only time I see 420 mentioned is as a blade material in mass produced knives. Also, there may well be more than one grade of 420 just as there is more than one grade of 440. We use 440C to make high quality blades but there is also a 440A and a 440B which are not as good for blades. I think you'll find that most makers who use stainless steel for liner locks probably use 416 .....

[Bernez]

Ray,

Thanks a lot for the info. This is the kind of information I can deal with.

Bernez

[Omega]

ok Ray no laughing or i told you so's. but i agree i used stainless steel and Geno heattreated it for me so i KNOW it was done right but the SS just doesnt have the same spring the titanium does, also titanium was actually easier to work with for the most part than SS was. just my .02

Bill:evil

[Bernez]

Like I said, I have some 6AL-4V Titanium (.050). Is this a good thickness or is it too thick for a liner lock.
The blade will be about 3.6" (bolster to tip) and about 0.90"/0.95 width.

Bernez

[Omega]

ok maybe im stupid but isnt .90 almost an inch? ive heard that most people use .05 for the bigger folders and .04 for midsize folders.

Bill

[Ray Rogers]

Ya, Bill, .90 is almost an inch but I'm sure he meant .09 or about 3/32nds of an inch. BTW Bill, I'm glad that worked for you. Just because something works for me doesn't mean it will work for someone else. Glad to hear I didn't cause you problems.

A .050 liner would be perfect for that, Bernez. You could use thinner material or even thicker material. The trick is to make the lock bar of such a width and length that is has the correct flexibility .........

[Omega]

Ray,
the ti has worked much better than i thought it would all im worried about now is the lock and we'll see how that turns out in a day or so.



Bill:evil

[michael vagnino]

The problem with the 440 series of steels is I dont believe they come in sheet thicknesses. You might try 410. Most of the factories that use stainless use it because they can stamp them out. And yes your stailess liners you would have to heat treat them. Another option would be to use 15n20. It's not stainless but does work well for liners. One draw back is that it has the potential for rusting. Which leaves Ti. Thats what I use and problably most of the liner lock makers . Once you learn how to deal with it, it should work well for you.

Michael

[HermanKnives]

The best ss for linerlocks inho is 17-4 ph. It is springy just like ti and I found about the same strength thickness wise. It is ss spring steel and heat treatment for it is much easier than the 400 series. 900* for 1 hour. I had trouble with ti galling all the time and the 17-4 dont do this. You can get in in sheets of .040 and .050 from Kauffman Supply in montana for only $21 per square foot. Even annealed its pretty springy. Try it if you want ss linerlocks.

[Frank Niro]

I use .050 thickness for almost all of my folders and a little .040 for ones that I decide are small. I preffer 6242 titanium. It is far more consistant in surface finish, works cleaner, and takes bends far easier than 6Al4V does.

[stoneman]

Hey Frank, as a fellow B.C.er where do you get your Ti from? I am planning my first folder, and I am building up my material list.

[Bernez]

Omega,

You'r not stupid, but when I mentioned 0.9", it stated "width" (or height) of the blade and not it's thichness

Bernez