bad Heat treatment

If the blade chips under normal use, it is too hard/brittle. If the edge rolls, it is not hard enough. That is the cliff notes version.
 
You must first have the knowledge of how the steel performs with a good heat treat.
 
pogo said:
If the blade takes a razor edge then the heat treat is right.
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That's not necessarily a complete answer. I had a $6 knife I bought in Gatlinburg back in high school. I have no idea where that thing was made or what it was made of, but a little time on a ceramic rod would put a razor edge on it. Cut anything (and I do mean anything) with it and it would instantly transform into being dull as a post.

A razor edge can just be a fragile wire edge that rolls over with first use. A well heat treated razor edge is capable of taking some use and still being sharp. Can it whittle something or cut a few pieces of leather and still retain the edge? That's a better test for if a blade is sufficiently hardened.

In the other direction, there really isn't a non-destructive test for if a blade is excessively brittle except for the brass rod chipping test (and technically that is destructive because you have to grind out the chip if it fails).
 
If you have a ZT0300 I wouldn't worry about the heat treat. Kershaw does it right buddy.
 
ar0maticdecay said:
ok i have an s30v zt 0300 enlighten me.
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The blade when sharpening should feel very hard like rubbing rocks together. It will grind slow and if you have very stright bevels at a low angle you will have problems with microchipping. S30V usually does not hold a shaving sharp edge for that long but will hold a burred, rough edge that lasts forever. S30V can handle low angles but if done on a edgepro, DMT aligner or like sharpener you will most likely need a microbevel. If done by hand the natural convex shape produced by hand sharpening will allow you to keep a low angle without the problems of microchipping.


A bad heat treat on a ZT is not something I would expect but that not to say its not possiable. What makes you think its a bad HT?
 
i don't think it's a bad heat treatment. i'm new to knives and i was just looking for info on it incase i ever did encounter a knife with it. when u said i need to know more about the steel i asked :)

i did notice that the 0300 blade wasn't shaving paper sharp from the factory. i did read that people would run it on a sharpener a few times and got it to razor sharp though. it's still sharp though

hm i wonder if i should of went with 154cm
 
imo, best heat treatment is the way Japanese does to their swords. love the way they are crafted too. not to brittle on the edge, but in best quality, and got that springy back spine, or was it hard back? I forgot. but as I said, best heattreatment right there. haha
 
mielton said:
imo, best heat treatment is the way Japanese does to their swords. love the way they are crafted too. not to brittle on the edge, but in best quality, and got that springy back spine, or was it hard back? I forgot. but as I said, best heattreatment right there. haha
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There's nothing special about it, its a differential heat treat.
 
A differentially treated blade is also not something you'd want for all applications, so you can't make the global statement that such a treatment is "the best." There are lots of working blades that would become a liability if they had soft spines and incredibly fragile edges.
 
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