The present invention includes bainitic steel doctor blades, bainitic steel
coating blades, bainitic steel creping blades and bainitic steel rule die knives used in gravure printing, flexographic printing, paper making,
die cutting of materials including paper, plastic, foam, leather, etc. Other uses include printing processes such as
pad printing and electrostatic printing. The invention also includes an
improved method for producing bainitic steel strip. The present invention is accomplished by using bainitic steel components that exhibit superior straightness and wear properties and are bendable around small radii. The process of the present invention comprises the steps of annealing a
carbon steel resulting in a
microstructure of the steel having a dispersion of carbides in a
ferritic matrix; cold rolling the annealed steel; cleaning the cold rolled steel to remove oil and
dirt; bridle braking the cleaned steel to increase strip tension; austenitizing the steel; submersing the austenitized steel into a quenchant; removing excess quenchant; and isothermally transforming the austenitized steel into
bainite. The present process of the invention also includes the use of turn rolls that are housed in an
assembly containing salt and / or
tin.