[TheForge] A8

[Doug Ayen]

Quoth Phlip (phlip at 99main.com):
> Just got access to a fair amount of A8 tool steel, from used wood chipper
> blades. Is it good for anything? Anybody want some?
> 
> Please, tell me about it...
> 
> Saint Phlip,
> CoDoLDS
> 
> "When in doubt, heat it up and hit it with a hammer."
>  Blacksmith's credo.
> 
>  If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
> cat.

Google turned up the following data sheet:
http://www.timken.com/products/specialtysteel/engineering/tech_info/html/A8_MGR.htm

http://makeashorterlink.com/?R3E715068

   A8 tool steel is an air-hardening tool steel that is characterized 
by a combination of very good toughness, intermediate wear resistance, 
and excellent dimensional stability in heat treatment. A8 is an excellent 
steel for punches and dies that operate in the 55 to 60 Rockwell C 
hardness range. The combination of toughness and wear resistance make 
A8 an excellent tool for applications which require higher toughness 
than that of the high-carbon, high-chromium steels such as D2, and 
better wear resistance than that of shock-resisting steels such as S7. 
For hot work tooling applications, A8 provides better resistance to 
erosion, wear and wash-out than the typical chromium-molybdenum hot 
work steels such as H11 and H13. However, it is not recommended for 
hot applications where thermal fatigue (heat checking) is the primary 
failure mode.
     Typical applications for A8 tool steel include punches, drift pins, 
pneumatic tools, chuck jaws, hammers, hot rolls, and hot and cold shear 
knives.


So it sounds like it should be good for tooling, and is probably OK for
knives.

--doug