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Tomorrow’s
Blade Material
Today
SM-100, aka HIPTiNite,
makes its case for
replacing steel for
knife blades
SM-100 is the first titanium/nickel alloy made using
the particle metallurgy process, here on a Duane Dwyer
custom Strider SnG model. Dwyer (right) is inset with Scott
Devanna (left) of SB Specialty Metals. (Brady Miller image)
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F
orget everything you know for a
minute and imagine a blade alloy
with such incredible strength it
eclipses almost every exotic steel you’ve
ever known. Sounds unimaginable but it
may be closer to reality than you think.
SM-100 is a recently developed titanium
alloy with properties that address the inadequacies of its singular base metal and
trumps the latest, greatest exotic steels in
the key factors considered important in
a blade material: strength, durability and
corrosion resistance.
The knock on titanium as a blade material is that it’s softer than steel. That’s
a given. However, titanium has several
characteristics that make it superior to
steel. First, titanium is stronger than
steel. Second, it offers significant weight
savings over steel. Third, it will not rust.
Fourth, it is zero magnetic, an advantage
in any type of work that is sensitive to
magnetic signatures such as underwater
explosives work. Finally, it can be anodized to produce spectacular colors.
Titanium takes on a whole new attitude when mixed with nickel as an alloy. Duane Dwyer of Strider Knives has
been hot and heavy on the SM-100 trail
for over 15 years. “SM-100 has also been
unofficially named ‘HIPTiNite,’” Dwyer
begins. HIP is an acronym for hot isostatic
press, which is a key part of the particle
metallurgy used in the powdered metal
process to make the material. Ti symbolizes titanium and Ni nickel on the periodic table. Adds Dwyer, the te was added at
the end “because it makes it a cool word.”
AN ALLOY is BORN
According to Dwyer, SM-100 is an offshoot of a material study by William
Buehler in 1959 at the Naval Ordnance
Laboratory. Buehler’s goal was to achieve
high hardness levels in a non-ferrous material. His experiments produced a cast
alloy called NiTiNOL. It is now in wide
use with many alloys and products but, as
Dwyer notes, no one had ever manufactured the alloy using the particle metallurgy (PM) process.
“My interest was simply that we, as
mankind, have worked with iron for
roughly 6,000 years and yet we still had
no materials that are truly consistent in
hardness all the way through the material
at a level of 60 HRC, other than those that
would rust,” he observes.
The “Bully” is knifemaker Eric
Bono’s first folder using SM-100.
Though the alloy is difficult to grind,
the brilliant colors that can be
achieved with it are worth the effort.
In December 2005, Dwyer asked metallurgist Scott Devanna, current vice
president of technology at SB Specialty
Metals, whether NiTiNOL could be made
using the PM process to achieve the desired hardness. It sparked a long-term
quest with Devanna, who has worked in
the field of metallurgy for decades. “Over
the next six months, Mr. Devanna continued to introduce me to men and women
within the trade who are some of the
brightest minds in the world,” Dwyer recalls. “One such person was metallurgist
and knifemaker Eric Bono, who was the
first person of the many I spoke with who
expressed a great deal of interest in the
idea. With many years of success within
the industry, Eric became the backbone
of the existence of what we have now.
His personal involvement, knowledge
“You could leave
an SM-100 knife or
tool in salt water
for 50 years and
there would BE no
corrosion!”
—Scott Devanna
and access to the materials, facilities and
personnel to get the job done were paramount.”
Bono undertook the task of developing
the titanium/nickel alloy dubbed SM-100
using PM technology. “In late 2006 he
shipped me a small bar with a rough finish,” Dwyer recollects. “After shaping and
An SM-100 blade in three stages,
from left: in blank form, fully ground
and oxidized from the heat treat.
m arch 2 016 blad emag.co m 51
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Duane Dwyer of Strider Knives was
the main force in pushing SM-100
along, and has made some stunning
knives using the alloy, including his
SnG. (Brady Miller image)
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grinding it, which provide a completely
different level of issues than ferrous metals, I learned that drilling and milling it
were even more complex.”
It took a lot more research and experimentation over several years to refine
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52 Bl ad e m a rch 2 016
the SM-100 alloy. “Advances were made
in every aspect of this process and, in
2009, Mr. Bono and a partner, Mr. Fred
Yolton, established Summit Materials and
continued to produce small quantities of
the material,” Dwyer explains. “The reputation of this new material grew and became of interest at NASA, in Formula 1
racing, in the cutlery industry and more.
A host of successful knifemakers has utilized the material such as Elliot Williamson, Jim Burke, Les George, Jon Graham,
Steve Kelly, Tom Mayo, Doug Stice, Mick
Strider, Eric Bono and myself.”
More recently the SM-100 quest has
taken flight. “In 2014, Summit Materials and a few knifemakers received great
press with the material by using the alloy
in a small set of custom pieces for an auction to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital,” Dwyer continues.
“The set was purchased for $15,000—a
great success—and we hope to continue
this event annually. Also in 2014, Summit Materials joined forces with Puris
[a titanium and alloy powder producer,
among others] to continue production on
a larger scale.”
UPS and DOWNS
SM-100 alloy offers properties not found
in stainless steels. “I talk to knifemakers
on a daily basis,” Devanna notes. “When
I’m asked about SM-100, the discussion
gets very interesting. I tell the maker SM100 is not a steel but an alloy composed
of 60 percent nickel and 40 percent tita-
nium. It offers excellent corrosion resistance and is basically corrosion proof.
Most 400 series steels are stainless, but
get them around salt water and forget it.
You could leave an SM-100 knife or tool
in salt water for 50 years and there would
be no corrosion!
“SM-100 is extremely tough, which
has advantages for knives but also causes
problems when trying to grind,” Devanna
says. “The material can be ground using
double-disc or Timesavers® type machines, but conventional grinding [magnetic chucks] do not work. Next, and
most interesting to knifemakers, SM-100
is heat treatable to hardnesses in the 60 to
61 HRC range. Edge retention and wear
resistance are very good.”
SM-100’s toughness comes with a cost.
“The properties that make SM-100 a great
blade material unfortunately also make it
challenging to grind and machine,” Bono
notes. “Knifemakers typically talk about
how many blades they can grind per belt,
but with SM-100 it is more appropriate
to talk about how many belts you use per
blade. As an example, Duane Dwyer and I
are working on a dive-knife-collaboration
project and we’re averaging six belts per
blade—that’s over $40 in belt costs alone
per finished knife! The end product, however, more than justifies the expense.”
“Since I owe it to the knifemakers and
our customers to be thorough, I let them
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Metallurgist and custom knifemaker Eric
Bono was a key member of the SM-100
research team and has worked with the alloy
extensively. An example of his knifemaking
is his “Little Bastard” fixed blade.
know that SM-100 is very expensive and
difficult to work with—grinding, machining, etc. Once they get over the sticker shock,” Devanna says, “we usually sell
them various size pieces of the material.
We produce and sell pieces small enough
to make one folder blade, and occasionally sell as much as a full sheet at a time.”
Bono explained how he achieves the
brilliant colors on his SM-100 blades.
“The coloration is typically done during
the heat-treat process,” he begins. “Much
like titanium, SM-100 oxidizes into a variety of colors. The basic process is to al-
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S M -1 0 0 |
Ed Fowler’s
knives come
to life in his
Paragon
furnace
“The Paragon oven is
very well constructed,” said
Ed Fowler, who bought his
furnace in 1993. “Mine is as
solid as the day it was made.
I recommend Paragon ovens very highly to
anyone who asks. My Paragon furnace has
always provided the dependability I can
count on.”
We at Paragon appreciate all that Ed
Fowler has done to further the education of
the custom knife maker.
We can customize your new Paragon
knife maker’s furnace. Do you prefer the
traditional counter-weight drop door or the
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Both doors include the safety switch,
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Choose the standard blue paint or, for a
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www.paragonweb.com
[email protected]
low small pockets of air to bleed in during
heat treatment, and, as the oxygen is consumed, you get different coloration. This
is achieved by wrapping the blades in foil
before heat treatment and either leaving
small gaps in the wrap or poking small
‘breather holes’ in the foil in areas where
you want higher oxides to form.”
ONE to WATCH
Obviously, the biggest disadvantages of
SM-100 are its price, both in manufacturing and grinding materials necessary
to finish the alloy. However, not so long
ago stainless steels produced using PM
technology were expensive as well, often
adding $75 to $100 to the cost of a knife.
Given SM-100’s impressive properties,
the new alloy is worth the consideration
of knifemakers and consumers. It will be
interesting to see where SM-100 sits on
the desirability scale five years from now.
For the contact information for the story
principals, see “Where To Get ’Em” on
page 56.
To read all about the latest knives, knife
news, forums, blogs and much more, visit
blademag.com.
5 4 Bl ad e m a rch 2 016
HIP is an acronym for hot isostatic
press, which is a key part of the particle metallurgy used in the powdered
metal process to make the material. Ti
symbolizes titanium and Ni nickel on
the periodic table. Adds Duane Dwyer,
the te was added at the end “because
it makes it a cool word.”
m arch 2 016 blad emag.co m 5 5