Carbalt vs. C-Max

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Feb 4, 2017
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Location
Nevada City, Ca.
My question is for engravers that have used both Carbalt square graver blanks and C-Max square gravers and can tell me the difference, if there is any.

Which square blank will give me the longest lifetime between polishing or re-grinding?

I do push hand engraving/bright cutting into sterling silver and have been very happy with Lindsay Carbalt. The corners rarely chip and I can get a lot of cutting done before it needs a refresh polishing to keep the cuts bright.

Sometimes I use a Gravermax, and have been questioning lately if Carbalt is the right choice for air assisted engraving into silver. Especially after reading about C-Max blanks and GRS saying it has superior durability, and I’m not sure if that’s just company hype.

Thanks for any help on the comparison between the two. Forgive me if this has already been covered in the past. I looked back through things in the forum, but couldn’t find the answer I was looking for.

-Michael
 

DKanger

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Essentially, graver blanks are lathe bits from the machine tool industry that have been reground from 1/8" to 3/32".
They come in the following grades:

M2 = HSS (high speed steel)
M35 = 5% cobalt
M42 = 8% cobalt

These 3 grades comprise the common gravers offered by both companies. They have just added their own "names" to their products, along with any required marketing hypes. The higher the cobalt content, the more brittle the tool will become, however it will remain sharper longer. To combat tip breakage, the face angle is increased.
 
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Sam

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Cmax is carbide and not HSS.

One thing you can be certain of is that there's no graver material that will suit every engraver. Different people have different graver geometries, graver control, and a slew of other things that can affect tool life. For brightcutting, carbide will maintain a polish much longer than HSS, but that doesn't mean it's the best choice for everyone. You really need to do your own comparison at your bench in order to know for sure.
 

Tim Wells

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This is all correct. However, Carbalt is a formulation Steve came up with (not sure what % carbide though) where carbide is added to the cobalt to help make it hard like carbide but less brittle. Basically, M42 with carbide added.

I've used it on silver bright cutting under power and it does great. I have only one Cmax graver and have not yet tried it in silver so I can't comment on any difference there may be but seeings how they both have carbide in them I don't expect any noticeable change in sterling.

Essentially, graver blanks are lathe bits from the machine tool industry that have been reground from 1/4" to 1/8".
They come in the following grades:

M2 = HSS (high speed steel)
M35 = 5% cobalt
M42 = 8% cobalt

These 3 grades comprise the common gravers offered by both companies. They have just added their own "names" to their products, along with any required marketing hypes. The higher the cobalt content, the more brittle the tool will become, however it will remain sharper longer. To combat tip breakage, the face angle is increased.
 
Joined
Feb 4, 2017
Messages
11
Location
Nevada City, Ca.
DKanger, Sam and Tim,

Thanks very much for all your insight on my question.

I'm very interested in the C-Max tool and I think I'll take Sam's advice and do my own comparison.

I use the 3/32" square graver for a flat tool. The geometry I use is 42 deg. face with a kind of medium/shallow rounded heel. Polished up with diamond spray on a cast iron lap. It's probably close to everyone else's geometry that do western engraving.

Thanks again!
-Michael
 
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JOEYS CARVED ART

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Nov 7, 2013
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I use both C-MAX and Carbalt, I like/love them both. I especially like the C-MAX stepped blanks, they save a lot of time if you want to make small/micro sized gravers. They all eventually break and need honing or re-sharpening so it's really a personal preference just like Sam says.
 

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