COMPOSITE UTILITY KNIFE BLADE AND METHOD OF MAKING SUCH A BLADE

摘要

A COMPOSITE UTILITY KNIFE BLADE AND METHOD OF MAKING SUCH A BLADE (10) INVOLVES BUTT JOINING A TOOL STEEL WIRE (44) TO A FRONT EDGE (42) OF AN ALLOY STEEL BACKING STRIP (34). THE WIRE (44) IS ELECTRON BEAM (54) WELDED TO THE BACKING STRIP (34) TO FORM A COMPOSITE STRIP (46) DEFINING A FIRST METAL PORTION (20) FORMED BY THE ALLOY STEEL BACKING STRIP (34), A SECOND METAL PORTION (22) FORMED BY THE TOOL STEEL WIRE (44), AND A WELD REGION (28) JOINING THE FIRST AND SECOND METAL PORTIONS (20, 22). THE COMPOSITE STRIP (46) IS THEN ANNEALED, AND THE ANNEALED STRIP IS STRAIGHTENED TO ELIMINATE ANY CAMBER THEREIN. THE ANNEALED COMPOSITE STRIP (46) IS THEN HARDENED SUCH THAT THE FIRST METAL PORTION (20) DEFINES A SURFACE HARDNESS WITHIN THE RANGE OF APPROXIMATELY 38 RC TO APPROXIMATELY 52 RC, AND THE SECOND METAL PORTION (22) DEFINES A SURFACE HARDNESS WITHIN THE RANGE OF APPROXIMATELY 60 RC TO APPROXIMATELY 75 RC. THE HARDENED STRIP IS THEN SUBJECTED TO AT LEAST TWO TEMPERING AND QUENCHING CYCLES. THEN, FACETS ARE FORMED ON THE EDGE OF THE SECOND METAL PORTION (22) TO FORM A STRAIGHT, TOOL STEEL CUTTING EDGE (14) ALONG AT LEAST ONE SIDE OF THE COMPOSITE STRIP (46). THE COMPOSITE STRIP (46) IS THEN SCORED AT AXIALLY SPACED LOCATIONS TO FORM A PLURALITY OF SCORE LINES (64), WHEREIN EACH SCORE LINE (64) IS ORIENTED AT AN ACUTE ANGLE RELATIVE TO THE AXIS OF THE STRIP, AND THE PLURALITY OF SCORE LINES (64) DEFINE A PLURALITY OF BLADE (10) SECTIONS AND SCRAP SECTIONS LOCATED BETWEEN THE BLADE (10) SECTIONS. EACH SCRAP SECTION IS BENT OUTWARDLY RELATIVE TO A PLANE OF THE COMPOSITE STRIP (46) ON ONE SIDE OF A RESPECTIVE SCORE LINE, THE COMPOSITE STRIP (46) IS THEN PRESSED ON AN OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE RESPECTIVE SCORE LINE, AND THE RESPECTIVE BLADE (10) SECTION IS THEN SNAPPED AWAY FROM THE BENT SCRAP SECTION ALONG THE RESPECTIVE SCORE LINE.