edge thickness before Ht

J

Jax knives

Joined
May 25, 2020
Messages
59
I've down plenty search's /reading maybe even too much to the point I have educated myself and then confused myself to all the info. lol

I presently working with 1080 and 1095 steel in .125. , .187 and .250. thickness. I have got my primary bevels to a finished point (320 grit) and my secondary bevels at .040 or thickness of a dime before heat treat.

1) After heat treat and decarb I will have to regrind my entire bevel and achieve my final secondary(edge) bevel thickness before sharpening.

2) I'm not sure at what grit I regrind with after heat treat and at what final edge thickness im wanting to achieve. All my knives are a combination of (3)each EDC, Hunting, tactical, survival/woodsmen.

3) I'm not real sure at what my secondary bevels should be for each style of knife and I was anticipating using a 20° for all of them.

4) I'm also looking for what belt grit or stone grit procedure for final sharpening for just a good toothy paper cutting sharp and I'm not sure if any need to be razor/hair cutting sharp.
 
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
 
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.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
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.
Click to expand...

Truth is the steel supplier shipped the .250 stuff by accident so I decided to keep it and make some survival/choppers type knives out of it rather than the hassle of returning it.

I meant to entitle this thread thickness "after" heat treat but but I messed that up too. lol

I'm looking for secondary edge thickness after heat treat before sharpening and some of the grinding/grit procedures during that process.

Ive read plenty but so many different opinions it's hard to pick a base/middle
 
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.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
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
Click to expand...

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.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top