[–]Scuzzbag 3 points 6 hours ago  D2 tool steel. Used in Dies for pressing and cutting machines. If you're lucky you can find some on eBay that is pre hardened and has come out of a cutting die that needs new blades. permalinksavereportgive goldreply [–]thesirenlady 2 points 4 hours ago  i know 12c27 lists skate blades as one of its applications What happens to it if it's not heat treated, so lets say I cut the blade from S110V and just sharpen it, is it too brittle or is it still better then heat treated 440C? absolutely not. untreated steel is useless. I dont think prehardened is going to work for you. firstly because its not really common. second because it probably wont have the finish you want, and you dont want to be refinishing hardened s110v. if you have to weld on a fixture then you'll get major weld embrittlement, which can be mostly solved if heat treating after. bear in mind, this is coming from an aussie. ive been to the snow once in my life, dad took us there on a whim in shorts and tshirts. can we go home now? permalinksavereportgive goldreply

formatting helpreddiquette save [–]carbonnanotube 1 point 52 minutes ago  The pros don't care about the lifespan of the blade as they just replace the runners when they get dull. You don't need something super hard, mechanical toughness and wear resistance will be more important than ultimate hardness. permalinksavereportgive goldreply

OK. What about the steel that is sold as small pieces for knife making - do the guys that use it to cut the final piece typically heat treat it afterwards?

Does hardening or heat treatment process change the dimensions of the final piece as far as thickness or any other tolerance in the dimension?