edge thickness before Ht

For the .125 thick stuff grind post heat treat. The thicker stuff go down to .020 take it to a 220grit finish. Post heat treat clean up with 220 grit then go up grits from there

 

Think dime thickness.

 

A dime is over .050" thick. That is almost twice the thickness you want at HT (unless you have the ability to grind while hardened). Around .030" at the edge is a good rule of thumb for carbon steel blades. It is best to have the surface at 220 grit minimum for HT.

On a different note, most new makers make blades way too thick. .250" is good for a belt axe or a giant cleaver, but too thick for any normal knife. .125" is about the thickest a normal knife ever needs to be ... and .060" is a good thickness for most hunting/fishing knives. Measure the thickness of some commercial blades to verify this to yourself.

 

Post HT the edge should be about .005" before sharpening as a general rule. Rough use blades can be a tad thicker and fillet/kitchen blades can be near zero.

 

You're speaking about stock thickness/max thickness of the blade itself? (If there's a better term please correct me, I'm new)

 

Don’t want to derail this thread but I don’t think this question justifies starting a new one so I figure I’ll ask here.

I know AEB-L ideally should be ground entirely after HT since it’s prone to warping. What about Nitro-V? Can I treat this like most other stainless steels and grind the edge to near final thickness (~.010”) pre-HT? I’ve tried looking it up but haven’t really found a definitive answer. Thanks.

 

I would grind Nitro-V after HT unless the blade is thick. If doing it pre-HT, I would leave a pretty thick edge.

 

I would say 80% of all the blades we get for heat treating are not ground. We do get aebl that is ground and unless you are perfect with your grind so everything is even it warps. Don’t get me wrong most aebl warps no mater what a little but we have had some nasty warps on ground blades. Just a personal opinion I feel like blades that are not ground get a better quench between plates then blades that have edge bevels.