turkeyshooter
Active Member
I hope this isn't a dumb question, but I read where I should buy CRA for stock removal and HR for forging. Someone please explain the advantages and what exactly is the difference.
Turkeyshooter,
Ive used both of these types of steel from admiral and here are my thoughts FWIW
For stock removal (what I've done thus far) stick with CRA steel ! The 1095 I've got cuts easily, accepts drilled holes with NO trouble, and grinds, as they say "like butter"
A 40 grit blaze will make CRA literally disappear ! Which is a good thing.
As mentioned, CRA= no scale.
can you grind off scale- yes
does that process eat belts- yes
Is this a PITA- yes
Does the use of abrasives outweigh the $ save by getting HR over CRA-IMO yes
Forging steel is a whole different process ! These are my thoughts as to why HR is good for forging and not for stock removal.
-due to the temps involved in forging the steel will have scale no matter what.
-working the steel at temps above critical negate the fact that it's not fully annealed from the mill.
-annealing is part of the process of making a forged knife before grinding on your forged blank so when you get to the stock removal part in forged construction your HR steel will now be annealed.
-Many stock removers will use precision ground steel and the grinder never even touches the flats or tang of the knife. This is a luxury not afforded to forgers. Even if forging from flatstock, the condition of the steel becuase of the heat involved will require that the entire blade be ground with the grinder so having a nice finish on the steel from the mill is no benefit to forgers but can be a HUGE time and abrasive saver for the stock remover.
I have annealed some HR 1080 from the mill before doing anything to it and it will greatly improve the working characteristics for cutting, drilling, and grinding but be prepared to do some major straightening of the steel before its workable. My pieces of around 18" came out of the anneal looking like a longbow. Fixable and useable but much more prep work than CRA before you even begin making a blade out of the steel.
These are my thought on this subject and do understand that I could be wrong about some of the forging aspects. I'm looking to get into forging in the comming year though so I've been studying up on the subject
-Josh