Does grinding ruin the temper...

[J.Davey]

Does grinding ruin the temper on a blade even if the blade is never allowed to get hot enough to not be able to touch it? 'm not talking about sharpening, because I do that by hand. I'm talking about stock removal, as in reshaping a blade (the spine, not the edge).

 

[Bill DeShivs]

No.
Bill

 

[mete]

You'd have to get the edge over about 400 F to damage the temper !!

 

[yoda4561]

As long as you keep the steel cool you won't have any problems. Many knifemakers in fact harden and temper blades before grinding to eliminate warpage during heat-treat.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

You'd have to get the edge over about 400 F to damage the temper !!

Some knives are tempered lower than 400 F.

Does grinding ruin the temper on a blade even if the blade is never allowed to get hot enough to not be able to touch it?

You can super heat the edge and the blade as a whole will still be cool. It depends a LOT on the steel, some are much more resistant to heat than others. 1095 for example will soften very quickly with heat, something like M2 resists it very strongly. Ideally you use a water cooled grinder.

-Cliff

 

[J.Davey]

Thanks everyone! I've actually reshaped, or add little touches to blades with a grinding wheel in the past and had no problems, but I wanted to be sure. I basically remove very little steel at a time (on the wheel for a couple seconds, then a dip in ice water). It takes a few minutes to get the desired modification want, but still much faster than with a file...in my experience.