416 steel bolster

[dirtyphil]

i have never put a bolster on s knife but went ahead and bought some bolster material; brass, nickel, copper bars and a bar of 416 stainless steel from TruGrit.
Is it required that I heat treat the stainless? Thanks, Phil

 

[seanj]

No need to heat treat for bolsters. I use 416 stainless for bolsters and the material works quite well.

 

[Tom Lewis]

I never heat treat 416. Once I bought some 416 that had been heat treated. I could not tell any difference.

 

[Joel Mercier]

It really is up to you. HTed 416 will get optimal corrosion resistance and finish, but annealed 416 will do just fine as well.