It's Awfully Quiet Out There

[Thad Buchanan]

Steve, it's been a month without any new threads or even a post from you. Hope all is well and you're just busy at the grinder.

Thad

[Steve]

It must be Holiday Season, Thanksgiving, Christmas tree harvesting, BYU football games, etc. Sorry, I get distracted at times, I guess.
Has anyone had anything to do with an outfit called "U.S. Diamond Wheel? They seem to be willing to make almost any type of abrasive that one would need. I am awaiting a price list from them for some diamond paper and he said he'd send info. on their other products.

Also, anyone know where I can find some T-416 SS in 5/16" x 5/8" and 3/8" x 5/8". Too much waste in the 1' wide stuff that's commonly available.

[Thad Buchanan]

I just bought some 416 3/8x5/8 from Fry Steel in L.A.. They have just about any dimension you could want. It's also a great place to buy pin stock. The website is: www.frysteel.com/data/ and the toll free number is: 800-423-6651.

The only way to make out on the deal is to buy bulk. They sell it buy the pound, but standard length is 12 ft. and if you buy less they charge a cut fee. They also charge a flat rate of $30.00 for packaging plus standard UPS ground. When I figured out the pricing it turned out that 12 ft, including the packing costs, would price out about the same as 3/8x1inch from the knife supply outfits. If you bought 12 ft each of 5/16 and 3/8 you should come out ahead, not to mention you'll be starting out with a better dimension. I don't know if you prefer Hot Rolled or Cold Drawn. They list it both ways, but as of about 2 week ago they were out of Cold Drawn.

I'll add that the website is a little cumbersome to navigate, but is worth looking through just to see everything they have on hand.

[Steve]

Thanks, Thad. The extra cost would be worth the extra work it takes getting rid of the extra steel if one had to go with the bigger sizes. I'll surely check it out. I was aware of Frye, just didn't think of it, have used them before, but long ago.
Thanks again!
I'll send out a request to the knifemaker suppliers and see if they can help me first, I would like to support them. They are a boon to us knifemakers!

[Thad Buchanan]

It would be nice if the knife suppliers would stock a more convenient size. I got tired of grinding all that material away to make it the right size, but none of the folks I normally buy from stocked what I wanted. I have plenty now......

[mlovett]

What is the difference between the cold drawn, and hot rolled. I know the process. But what is thedifference in using it. finnish, Internal inclusions . If any?

[Thad Buchanan]

Mike, I really don't know if there is a structural difference in Cold Drawn vs. Hot Rolled. I've used both and can't tell you that one is better than the other. I think the Cold Drawn tends to be a little more expensive because it involves more processing. That's a good question for a metallurgist though.