Stop using plain steel for your hot cut chisels, switch to S7 tool steel

I was burning through cheap hot cuts every season, my old ones would dull after 50 hits on a 1 inch bar. Then I spent $30 on an S7 blank and hardened it myself with a torch and oil quench, it's held an edge through three months of heavy use. Has anyone else tried S7 versus something like H13 or 4140 for striking tools?

2 comments

2 Comments

terry_lewis2114d ago

Is it really that big a deal though? Most guys I know just sharpen their plain steel ones every so often and get along fine. Spending thirty bucks and the effort to heat treat something sounds like a lot of work for a hobbyist.

olivia_bailey14d ago

A lot of work for a hobbyist" is exactly the point though. For a lot of us, spending an evening in the garage grinding and heat treating IS the fun part of the hobby. Plain steel works fine if you just want something sharp enough to cut a box open, but once you start actually using a knife for more than that, you notice the difference pretty quick. A properly treated blade holds an edge way longer and takes a better edge to begin with. It's not really about the thirty bucks. It's about making something that actually works well.